The Ultimate Entrepreneur's Book: A Straight-Talking Guide to Business Success and Personal Riches

Book Description

Two self-made millionaires reveal the secrets of their fantastic business achievements and personal fortunes. The Ultimate Entrepreneur's Book does not rely on a mystical system but offers practical hands-on advice for turning ideas into money-making business realities. Richard Dobbins and Barrie Pettman provide a complete pragram for the ambitious entrepreneur or executive, from thinking creatively and setting clear goals to negotiating skills, leadership and leberating time management. It is illustrated throughout with great stories and personal anecdotes.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent book on starting up your new firm.......2003-07-17

This book goes through the core steps to creating and then starting a business. Here's a list of the chapters:

1 How to think creatively (ideas)
2 How to set and acieve your goals (motivation)
3 How to implement a winning business strategy (strategy)
4 How to implement a winning marketing strategy (marketing)
5 How to be excellent at selling (selling)
6 How to negotiate better deals (negotiation)
7 How to lead a winning team (leadership)
8 How to understand the financial implications (profits)
9 How to focus on the 20% that brings in the 80% (time)

I found the authors most interesting in the creativity, strategy, marketing, selling, time areas. I underlined a lot of the book and generated many good ideas for new businesses.

This is a good practical book for a startup entrepreneur. I was surprised that I responded to British authors in the business area. But in fact they had many interesting, yet different, points of view that I found of help.

Also, I generally find the motivational area of most books to be too much "rah-rah" fluff. This book actually had some great practical pointers, as there are lots of checklists in the motivation chapter -- as well as in all chapters of the book. If you love watching TV, you will have a problem with their chapter on motivation.

One topic I found of great interest were their comments on "Buy a Dog" (a business doing poorly). They say that "If you wish to get rich quickly, then why not think about acquiring a Dog? A Dog may cost you nothing. In fact, the Dog may cost you less than nothing... It is a popular myth that if you wish to succeed in business you need to come up with a new idea, a new product, a new service. New products are extremely dangerous..." They go on to explain their logic. I found it interesting.

As businessmen they have strong opinions and express them well. And, this makes the book so successful: they relate their experiences along with their viewpoints.

Highly recommended for your entrepreneurial reading.

John Dunbar
Sugar Land, TX

Book Description

This timely and controversial book presents powerful theoretical and empirical arguments for the repeal of the anti-discrimination laws within the workplace. Richard Epstein demonstrates that these laws set one group against another, impose limits on freedom of choice, unleash bureaucratic excesses, mandate inefficient employment practices, and cause far more invidious discrimination than they prevent. Epstein urges a return to the now-rejected common law principles of individual autonomy that permit all persons to improve their position through trade, contract, and bargain, free of government constraint.

Customer Reviews:

Interested but unpersuaded........2001-03-08

Mr. Epstein makes several fantastic points in this analysis of the efficiency and usefulness of civil rights laws. Specifically, his historical account of the misinterpretation of Title VII and his differentiation between racist hiring practices versus mandatory quota systems were solid points. However, I disagreed with him due to his relative indifference to the poor income distribution which could be caused by overt, legal discrimination. The "contract at will" approach that he espouses does not adequately address these issues, and I think historically we have seen that in situations where one race, sex etc is blatantly discriminated against, they do not fare quite as equally as Epstein predicts.

While I disagree with the final premise, I am not saying that this is not an important book to read. Epstein is, as always, a fantastic writer and strong persuader. Worst comes to worst you will have a great time arguing with the pages.

Privatizing Discrimination.......2000-12-13

Richard Epstein has a gift for making the outrageous seem plausible. In this book, he argues that the law should permit private corporations to fire people because they're black or refuse to serve them because they're Jewish. To be fair, he has no objection to "quotas" or "reverse discrimination" either, as long as these are instruments of private actors. In short, Epstein would repeal the Civil Rights Act, at least as it applies to the private sector.

If you accept the libertarian premises that state redistribution is theft and that private contracting should always be respected, Epstein's arguments do follow. I would say that that just shows how flawed libertarianism is. Society has an undoubted interest in combating private discrimination and the resulting inequalities.

Still, whatever you think of his conclusions, Epstein contributes to clarifying the debate.

Vintage Epstein.......1999-12-05

Epstein, as usual, offers a cogent and persuasive argument for libertarian principles. His theory of "rational discrimination," lucidly explained in this book, has provoked responses--and at least some changes--in the writings of more mainstream commentators on the subject such as Posner and Donohue. Like many scholars, Epstein is just a bit too sold on his own philosophy; at times he seems genuinely unable to believe anyone would disagree with him. Despite this minor flaw, the book is great, it offers a well-written presentation of an unorthodox, yet rather convincing philosophy.

A Great Book.......1999-05-06

Epstein offers a rigorous and persuasive case. Prepare to have your closed mind pried open.

Very bias, and quite blaming of others.......1999-01-19

I felt the text was quite simply written with a viewpoin that while semi-legitimate, was very one sided. I recieved the impression that it was my fault for the problems facing the subject.

Forbidden Grounds: The Case Against Employment Discrimination Laws-

Average customer rating:

Forbidden Grounds: The Case Against Employment Discrimination Laws-
Richard A. Epstein-
Manufacturer: Harvard University Press-
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000O00R22

Book Description

It is dealt with two main decision problems which arise when flow-line production systems are installed and operated. The assembly line balancing problem consists of partitioning the work, necessary to assemble the product(s), among different stations of an assembly line. If several models of a product are jointly processed on a line, this medium-term problem is connected with the short-term problem of determining an operating sequence of the models. In Part I balancing and sequencing problems are discussed, classified, and arranged within a hierarchical planning system. In the second edition special emphasis is given to u-shaped assembly lines which are important components of modern just-in-time production systems. Part II is concerned with exact and heuristic procedures for solving those decision problems. For each problem type considered, a survey of existing procedures is given and new efficient solution methods are developed. Comprehensive numerical investigations are reported.

Generation of assembly graphs by systematic analysis of assembly structures [An article from: European Journal of Operational Research]

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Generation of assembly graphs by systematic analysis of assembly structures [An article from: European Journal of Operational Research]
A.J.D. Lambert
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000RR67KS

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from European Journal of Operational Research, published by Elsevier in . The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
In assembly line balancing problems, parallel execution of assembly operations is often advocated because of its enhanced flexibility and minimum lead-time. Although the theoretical maximum number of possible assembly sequences combinatorially explodes with the number of components in a product, graphical representations can depict these sequences in a surveyable way. The AND/OR graph representation is an appropriate basis for optimum sequence selection, which can be achieved via heuristic, metaheuristic, and exact methods. The exact method, based on binary linear programming, is described. To arrive at the appropriate model, a novel approach for AND/OR graph generation, based on subassembly detection, is presented. The method is demonstrated with simple cases and next extended to increasingly complex products. A modification of the optimization method is applied, which enables a search for sequences with maximum parallelism.

An evaluation of alternate sequencing methods for balancing mixed model assembly lines (Working paper series / Boston University, School of Management)

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An evaluation of alternate sequencing methods for balancing mixed model assembly lines (Working paper series / Boston University, School of Management)
Elaine J Labach
Manufacturer: Boston University, School of Management
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B00072G3WK

Book Description

Preparing healthy meals for you and your family is easy!

Are you or one of your family members among the estimated 15.7 million people suffering from diabetes? Diabetics have special needs, and cooking for them can be a frustrating and daunting task. The Everything® Diabetes Cookbook puts the fun back into cooking for diabetics, providing you with more than 300 recipes to choose from to make a wide variety of tasty, nutritious meals.

From delectable appetizers such as spicy almond dip to delicious entrees such as smoked mussels cream sauce over pasta, The Everything® Diabetes Cookbook makes dining in a treat. In addition, the book offers complete nutritional information on every recipe and includes a wealth of useful tips and suggestions.

Whether you want a health-conscious meal for one-or are cooking for someone with special nutritional needs-The Everything® Diabetes Cookbook enables everyone to simply enjoy the culinary delights set before them without feeling deprived.

Featuring mouthwatering recipes for:

-Hearty breakfasts, such as egg white pancakes

-Comfort foods, such as chicken noodle soup

-The perfect starters, such as zesty feta and olive salad

-One-stop dinner dishes, such as layered veggie casserole

-Decadent desserts, such as glazed carrot cake

Customer Reviews:

Really disappointing for Type II Diabetes........2006-11-03

I was very disappointed in this book. It's great for low fat cooking, but not to manage your blood sugar. Her recipes don't use sugar substitues, soy flour, whole wheat flour, fat free cheese or cream and whole wheat pastas (higher fiber foods that are slower to absorb in the bloodstream). Recipe in book required that I alter to reduce the sugars, increase protien and fiber. I alter regular cookbook recipes, and I was hoping that this book would be different. One recipe doubles the carbs/sugars for oatmeal by adding lots of dried fruits. Perhaps sugar substitute, a splash of vanilla and cinnamon, 1/2 cup fresh fruit and a couple tablespoons half n half. This would have less sugar/carbs, but more fiber/protein and the small amount of fat will slow the conversion and absorbtion of sugars into the blood stream. So many other recipes have all-pupose flour, potato flour or potato starch, sugar, honey, and even instant rice. Her zucchini bread has 2 1/2 cups of sugar as well as regular flour...wow! Like I said, really disappointing. It's Low fat focused, not so low sugar. I don't think it's for a diabetic who's really trying to control sugars via diet. It would get 4 stars from me as a NON-Diabetic/Regular diet cookbook.

Wonderful selections offering a true culinary diversity.......2002-12-10

Diabetes is controlled through a combination of medication, exercise, weight control, and diet. Indeed, if caught earlier enough, some forms of diabetes can be controlled through exercise and diet without the need for insulin injections. The Everything Diabetes Cookbook is the most "user friendly" of all the diabetes oriented culinary references and offers more than three hundred nutritious recipes and imaginative menu ideas that will please the palate and grace any meal from simple family dining, to celebratory dinners, to holiday party snacks. From Hawaiian-Style Bread; Crab Cakes with Sesame Crust; Nutty Greek Snapper Soup; and Sweet Potato Crisps; to Cranberry-Turkey Sausage; Broccoli-Cauliflower Slaw; Apple Cookies with a Kick; and Peachy Ginger Ale, The Everything Diabetes Cookbook has wonderful selections offering a true culinary diversity completely appropriate for diabetic menu planning all year round.

Customer Reviews:

The worst study guide of all time.......2004-03-30

I purchased the study guide plus CD Rom. Although I have never taken any licensing exam before, I was confident that with a little help, I would easily pass this test. After all, my IQ tested out at over 140, I have never failed any test throughout high school or college, and I have worked in related fields.

Foolish me.

First off, this "guide" was nearly impossible to get through. Read the other reviews, most say the same. There were glaring errors in the math, multiple instances of conflicting information, and completely wrong answers to exams.

I contacted Dearborn about this four weeks ago and still have not heard back.

I blew through the CD Rom exams with better than passing grades. When I took the actual series 3, there was little similarity between the CD exam and the real deal. In fact, the CD prepares you for a 70% or better overall score, while the real series 3 has two sections, each scored individually, with a 70% required on both sections.

Having not been prepared for this, I did get a passing grade on the combined average score, but failed one section individually.

Had I been prepared properly with a different product or class, I doubt this would have happened.

Result: No license, no job.

Thanks, Dearborn! You suck.

Please do not buy this product.

Crude but effective.......2004-03-04

This book will help you pass the test. I read the book once, took all the practice tests and got a 93% on the actual exam. If you study the material you will pass. Don't expect a literary masterpiece nor expect to be an expert in the futures industry and you won't be disappointed.

Buy something else if you can..........2004-01-11

Buy this book at your own risk. I bought this in spite of the two reviews above and have regretted it. It may be enough to pass the test, but you will be extremely frustrated using it for you primary study guide.

Frustration #1: You read a few pages and take a quiz. The problem is the material you just read didn't cover the information! (This happens on about every mini quiz and especially on the sample exam tests.) You have to assume the answers to the exam are correct and use those questions to learn from.

Frustratin #2: Repeated questions in the same exam, quiz etc. Absolute stupidity! One exam of 120 questions had 4 or 5 repeats!

Frustration #3: On the Sample final exams, you get the answers and explanations given to you with a reference to the page number in the book where the material was covered. When you go to that page, You often find that the material was never there. I wasted time trying to find the information in the study material but finally gave up and assumed the answers and explanations to the questions were the only place where the material is covered.

I will probably pass the exam because I have a knowledge of the industry already, but if you are taking this without a vast array of experience already, Good Luck you will need it.

(If I fail the test, I'm think about sending Deerborn a bill for the book and also for the testing fees!!)

bad, but all you need.......2003-09-12

What can I say? The book is bad, but that's all you need to pass the exam. There were so many mistakes in it. Many things were not explained clearly, some were wrong, and there were even two consecutive paragraphs in the text that were identical. In the same sample test the same problem appeared twice, and that happened at least three times. All you sense is stupidity. When I first read it I felt very uneasy. How could anyone pass with only such a sloppy book? The reason is the test is as stupid. There were even spelling mistakes in the test, with "that" instead of "than". Repetitive questions again and again, exactly the same taste as the book. There were about twenty questions exactly appeared in the book. Either the book and the test were from same people, or the book did a wonderful job to track the stupidity of the test. I found problem sets in the book helpful, though repetitive. The hotsheet is useful too.

there are better options.......2003-03-15

I think you might be better off with another option...this book has a bunch of typos and other mistakes. I didn't think it was worth the money. I passed the exam but switched to another book after 4 chapters.

Book Description

The new edition of this successful book focuses on tested strategies for selecting bargain shares and assets at rock bottom prices and commissions. Brokers are making fortunes by applying these simple but little known investment techniques and now Davidson has opened the door to every private investor. Written in an easy-to-read style, the book's approachability is the key to its success. Alex draws upon his own experience and his comprehensive knowledge of the great US fund managers and investors, and introduces his Bargain Hunters' Investment FlexiSystem which provides investors with a workable blueprint for making money. Never has an investment book been more timely.

Book Description

Corporate accountability must be examined within the perspective of a company's business challenges. There is a synergy between shareholder value and the responsibilities of management. This book is based on an extensive research project done by the author from 2001 to 2003 in the United States, England, Germany, France, Italy and Switzerland. It includes many case studies on corporate accountability and governance, particularly among financial institutions. Significant attention is also paid to good governance of pension funds.

Book Description

Covers the record keeping and self-discipline needed to catalog one's occupational expenses into 6 major groups.

Book Description

Generations of Americans have known Thomas Jefferson as one of our unambiguously great presidents, a man of honor and optimism unencumbered by pettiness and spite; and so they have known Aaron Burr, his greatest adversary, as a traitorous would-be destroyer of that distinguished legacy. In Jefferson’s Vendetta, Joseph Wheelan examines one of the eminent political rivalries in our history, set against the backdrop of postcolonial Virginia, and discovers a truth vastly different from what is taught in high schools and universities.

Here is Burr, the flawed but gifted politician who made powerful enemies because his charm and skill rivaled Jefferson’s own, and who trusted the fairness of American democracy too deeply to rebut the wild criticisms aimed at him by slanderers in the U.S. government. Also shown in vivid detail is Jefferson, whose obsessive crusade to destroy Burr was undone by one mammoth but historically overlooked miscalculation.

Exquisitely researched and brilliantly written, Jefferson’s Vendetta challenges the blackened legacy of Aaron Burr and shows the beloved President Jefferson mired in the kind of hateful and manipulative politics that tradition has depicted him as rising above.

Customer Reviews:

Corruption and Treason.......2006-08-13

This is a part of history I had not studied before, and the same story is told in the earlier "The Jefferson Conspiracies" which continues on with the death of Meriwether Lewis and the rest of the career of General Wilkinson the really corrupt and treasonous person in both books. Both books are very readable, I found some of the points more clear in the other book. Both books feel Wilkinson betrayed Burr to hide his own involvement and would have killed him rather than see him go to trial. The second book speculates the same may have happened to Lewis as he was traveling East because he felt he was being framed in the same manner as Burr (thou in this case apparently competely innocent), and Wilkinson may have thought he was also going to provide evidence of his corrupt land deals.

This book tries to portray Burr as an innocent, which is hard to believe. While it is clear with just 50 men on there way to live on land owned by Burr , no treasous armed uprising against the US or Spain had yet occurred, (rather than the thousands of armed men approaching New Orleans that Wilkinson claimed). But it seemed that both Wilkinson and Burr solicited British and others for help with attacking Spain with Burr to be King (not President) and perhaps to divide the western territory from the US so at least in todays standards treason had occurred. Back then the Federalist were considering withdrawing New England from the union as well and before it was made illegal (but only a high misdameanor) there were US forays into Spainish terrority Jefferson at least wanted Spain to worry about a rogue attack from the US,such thoughts were not unusual in those days.

It is clear that Wilkinson was in Spain's payroll, and was traitous. Both books argue Jefferson shielded him by letting him have a phoney Court Marshall rather than an investigation by Congress. The one book claims it is to protect himself and his support of his star witness against Burr. The other for the national interest, from New England threatening to leave the Union and Britain invasion from Canada , the country could not stand for the distraction, plus Wilkinson's contacts with Spain made him useful with negotian about Florida and Mexico. He escaped conviction again in 1815, which even President Madison found troubling.

A Critical Moment in American History.......2005-07-07

Every society has a moment in time where a decision affecting civil liberties has enormous repercussions. For example, laws giving the government power to curtail political assassinations were abused by Stalin and Hitler to consolidate their dictatorships. This book covers the issues and personalities involved in the courtroom battle over whether the United States would adopt the British doctrine of constructive treason in which merely thinking that it would be desirable to have the King killed would be sufficient grounds for capital punishment. Jefferson, who intensely disliked his former vice-president Burr, sought to press treason charges for an alleged plan to cause the western regions to sucede from the United States. Faced with shaky evidence, the prosecutors urged that the Constitution be interpreted to enable them to convict Burr on the basis of constructive treason. The book cogently describes the societal and personal issues at stake, and how Chief Justice Marshall navigated the intense political and judicial issues involved in the grand jury proceeding and trial. The author does an excellent job of setting the matter in its historical context and does so in a very readable style.

Revisionist History.......2005-07-05

I don't know why Mr. Wheelan has such a sore spot about Jefferson. I would just warn readers that if you read this book, make sure you read many other historical books about these same characters. If you happen to read this book, and have not read other material about these characters, you will come away with a slanted view about Thomas Jefferson, and the other historical characters in this book. There are so many writers who, for reasons of profit or ideology, have taken upon themselves the job of rewriting history to their own liking, or that of their publisher. This book has several historical mistakes, but the overall tone reminds me of some of our current extremists who take a one sided view about many issues. Jefferson was a flawed human being, that is clear to anyone who reads history. But to paint him in this light is unfair. Burr, on the other hand, was not a nice guy. He was the kind of man Bush would have been if he had lived during that time. Power hungry, instigating failed military missions, and willing to kill to get his way. Yes, that is harsh, but painfully true. Be wary of revisionist history. I give this book four stars for its inventiveness; it does have some entertainment value. Wheelan writes well, but perhaps he should switch to fiction and stop trying to turn Jefferson into someone he was not. Thomas Jefferson was a man who would not tolerate tyrants and insisted on civil liberty. Not perfect, but not the character created in Mr. Wheelan's book.

Truly, "The Trial of the Century".......2005-07-03

In the early nineteenth century, former Vice-President Aaron Burr -- the recent killer of Alexander Hamilton in a duel -- was up to something. Maybe it was an attempt to conquer Spanish Mexico and set up an American empire. Perhaps it was a plot to separate the western territories (and Kentucky) from the rest of the Union. Maybe it was both. Maybe it was neither, Historians still debate the matter. But whatever it was, it ended up with Burr on trial for treason, with Chief Justice John Marshall presiding over the trial (and President Thomas Jefferson a behind-the-scenes prosecutor). Burr was eventually acqutted (probably more for lack of specific evidence and creditable witnesses -- Burr's co-conspirators did not inspire confidence in their own integrity) but it was an extraordinarily dramatic event in the early American Republic. Wheelan tells it story well, although he is clearly not sympathetic to Jefferson. I regret to say that Wheelan's accuracy is made suspect by errors he makes: in the space of four pages Wheelan writes that James Wilkinson (the comanding general of the US Army and secretly a paid Spanish agent and the chief Government witness against Aaron Burr) had in 1775 accompanied Benedict Arnold in his famous march across the Maine wilderness to attack Canada (Wilkinson had actually been among the reinforcements reaching Arnold the next year) and also that Westchester County is in Connecticut (a statement that would amaze thousands of New York State taxpayers). But, overall I found Wheelan's account to be a gripping narrative about both conspiracy and trial.

Vendetta.......2005-03-21

A lively account of a notable trial in U.S. history. Mr. Wheelan writes like a reporter (which he has been) more than a more measured historian. Here President Jefferson is the bad guy with Chief Justice Marshall saving the day. Burr is presented as a mis-understood rogue with political enemies in high places. I do not accept the author's version of the first presidential election of Jefferson, which gives an exceedingly favorable bent to Burr's actions. Burr also killed Hamilton, which does not cause the author much pause.

In my mind, John Marshall is our country's greatest jurist. This book does help in showing an important example of his fine work.

Book Description

It began in childhood, when Bruce was a little distant, and progressed into adolescence when Bruce was withdrawn and aggressive but it wasn't until he attempted suicide that the rot of Bruce's behavious was discovered - schizophrenia. After years of successful and unsuccesssful treatments, setbacks and progressions, instututionalization and independence, Bruce's life is altered forever as the voices inside his head drive him to commit the most unthinkable act known to mankind. Doris Ray, Bruce's mother, tells the real-life story of living with her son as he struggles with the horrors of schizophrenia.

As Doris describes the devastating effects on her family, finances and community, The Ghosts Behind Him also provides insight to important social issues such as mental health care and the legal system.

Customer Reviews:

Chronicling the Ravages of Schizophrenia.......2004-05-11

I began writing The Ghosts Behind Him in 1994 shortly after my son's trial on a charge of second degree murder from which he was acquitted because of his chronic mental disorder (schizophrenia.) My son Bruce was detained for 4 1/2 years at the Forensic Psychiatric Institute in British Columbia, Canada, until he was deemed well enough to be released on a conditional discharge by the BC Review Board. I equated the task of writing the book to that of having a long, painful surgery but am proud of the impact it has had on many of those who have read it. I believe it is important, for young people especially, to acquaint themselves with the symptoms of mental illness and learn how it can affect family members and in fact entire communities.

The Ghosts Behind Him was the recipient of The BC 2000 Book Award which was sponsored by the British Columbia government as a millennium year project. Funding was allocated to provincial schools which allowed them to place it on their library shelves.

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