Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction: Intelligence Assessments (Command)

Book Description

Bankable Business Plans reveals the secret of creating a compelling and successful business plan for anyone who ever dreamed of starting or expanding an enterprise. This invaluable book guides readers through a comprehensive, step-by-step process to produce a professional-quality business plan that will attract the financial backing entrepreneurs need. Bankable Business Plans is the only book on the market that demonstrates how to make each business plan uniquely suited to every endeavor. It is also the only book which explains how to employ the guidelines that banks, venture capital firms and the Small Business Administration use to grant loans and other financial support to businesses. By describing how to apply the relatively unknown, but easily available Risk Management Association data to each business concept, author Edward Rogoff provides a virtual answer key to anyone seeking financial support for a business idea. Rogoff?s years of experience in both founding and improving startup and established companies, as well as teaching entrepreneurship to college graduate and undergraduate students, enables him to delineate the elements that make a business plan attractive to investors and lenders. Bankable Business Plans is essential for anyone interested in opening a business, expanding an existing enterprise, or simply testing the financial reality of a dream.

Customer Reviews:

A must read for people interested in starting a business.......2006-10-23

This book is a must have for people starting a business. I haven't entered ANY business venture without first consulting with this book. I also had the wonderful opportunity to learn with Ed Rogoff himself, he is a very knowledgeable, straight-forward man, and his book is 100% reflective of his real life traits and experience. Great Job Ed!

Elkin

Financial projections in a business plan are important - they should be meticulous!.......2006-08-31

Chapter 10 in this book opened my eyes to a publication produced each year by the Risk Management Association (RMA). It's called the "Annual Statement Studies - Financial Ratio Benchmarks" and is a compilation of information supplied by member banking institutions that get their information from small business loan applicants. The author of Bankable BPs says a sound business plan must favorably compare to the information in the RMA publication, or it probably will not help the loan applicant get her funds.

I recommend after reading Bankable BPs that anyone creating a business plan will do themselves a favor by examining the RMA publication to use as a guide for creating meticulous financial projections included in their business plan. Don't write the business plan first, and then compare it to the RMA publication figures. Instead start with the figures and then write the business plan.

Another similar (but not as good) publication you might want to look at is called "Financial Studies of Small Business" written by Financial Research Associates.

Besides the impressive information contained in Chapter 10 of Bankable BPs, I thought the book was a great read on the subject of putting together a business plan. The author is an associate professor at one of the CUNY schools in New York. I would have liked the book better if he had not emphasized that a business plan was a tool to help raise capital. But he does point out that a business plan is an important tool for running a small business, too.

The author listed 10 action steps necessary to create a business plan:

1. Define the business
2. Figure out initial needs
3. Outline how the business expects to make money (business model)
4. Perform market research (study industry, competitors, and potential customers)
5. Write a marketing plan
6. Describe sales effort as it relates to marketing
7. Systematize operations & team building
8. Decide on capital requirements
9. Put together pro forma financials
10. Write the business plan in an acceptable format

I'm pretty sure the author felt the action steps were meant to be done in the above order. I tend to agree with the list of action steps, but not the particular order. I think #8 and #2 should be sequenced just after #9. I find it hard to believe it is possible to decide on capital resources BEFORE you have figured out the pro forma financials. And, without knowing the capital resources needed, it seems to me it is hard to determine what the initial needs of the business will be.

All in all, this was a very informative books and I am sure it will be a very helpful book to anyone who has to put together a business plan. 5 stars!

You can bank on this book.......2004-04-14

This book is terrific because it directly addresses the issue that probably undermines more business plans than any other: unrealistic assumptions. After 20 years as a banker and financial advisor to growth companies, both large and small, I believe that professional equity investors judge entrepreneurs by their ideas, their ability, and the reasonableness of their assumptions. Aggressive business plan assumptions raise significant doubts in the minds of investors, who don't just want 25% IRRs but want 25% IRRs that are achievable. Rogoff wisely advises entrepreneurs to ground their plans in reality, using solid industry data and benchmarking techniques. He teaches you to think like an investor or banker before writing your plan. Very solid advice. A must-read before going to market with your plan.

A Must for Business Owners.......2004-03-13

Ed Rogoff has written a must buy for those planning on starting or expanding their business. He takes you through a step-by-step plan from your initial idea to your grand opening. Examples, forms and common pitfalls are all covered in an easy to follow system. If you want to make your dream a reality, "Bankable Business Plans" will get you started.

Must for Business Owners.......2004-03-13

Ed Rogoff gives an in depth but workable plan for developing a new business. "Bankable Business Plans" gives you what you need to go from your initial idea to your financial source. Examples, forms and step-by-step instructions are included in this comprehensive book. This book is a must for business owners of any size business.

Average customer rating:

Great tool to get you started
Best of the bunch
A Great Aid to Anyone Starting or Trying Refinance A Business
Sensible Business Plans

Bankable Business Plans: Second Edition
Edward G. Rogoff
Manufacturer: Rowhouse Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Systems & Planning | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Small Business & Entrepreneurship | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

New Business Enterprises | Small Business & Entrepreneurship | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Business Plans | Small Business & Entrepreneurship | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0979152208

Book Description

The secrets behind creating compelling and successful business plans sure to attract financial backers are revealed step-by-step in this invaluable guide. Containing detailed information on Risk Management Association (RMA) data and clear explanations of the guidelines that banks, venture capital firms, and the Small Business Administration (SBA) use to grant loans and other financial support to businesses, the resource equips potential business owners with a wealth of knowledge on lending procedures. Hundreds of useful ideas for developing, operating, marketing, and building a profitable business are included as are copious examples and resources for further study. By demonstrating how to make each business plan uniquely suited to a particular endeavor—such as home-based businesses, sole proprietorships, and franchise operations—this comprehensive handbook ensures that anyone can embark on a new business venture with confidence.

Customer Reviews:

Great tool to get you started .......2007-10-21

This is an excellent tool for potential and new business owners. It is a guide that makes sense and is straight to the point. For those who have already started their own business, it is an excellent reference to keep at your finger tips just incase you run into any obstacles.

Best of the bunch.......2007-10-18

I am in the middle of starting my own small business. I bought 4 different books on business plan writing and this one is the one that I kept referring to. It is by far the best of the bunch. It's very readable, and it is organized so well that I was able to use it as a reference book while I was working on my plan. I also used their online tool too, which helped me generate preliminary financials to take to the bank (and to my now first investor). Overall, if you are at any point of the seemingly daunting task of writing a business plan, this book is the best one I found to get you through it.

A Great Aid to Anyone Starting or Trying Refinance A Business.......2007-10-10

Having spent my legal career advising clients who are either seeking financing or trying to resurrect failing businesses, I am constantly amazed at the absolute lack of insight that most of them bring to their own business. When they present plans to lenders and potential investors it becomes clear to me that they have not done the thinking or the research which are necessary to convince anyone of their vision for their company. I have read and given copies of Dr. Rogoff's excellent book to a number of clients and look forward to reading the 2nd edition. This book is a clear road map for any serious business person. More importantly the tools in this book will allow a business person to gain the kind of understanding of their own business which will help them avoid making unfortunate missteps. Anyone who is serious about obtaining financing for a business either existing or startup needs to follow the plan set forth in Bankable Business Plans. I plan to continue to make this book one of my top recommendation to my clients, before they approach investors or lenders.

Sensible Business Plans.......2007-10-09

Not only did Bankable Business Plans help me to launch a start-up, the organization, writing style and succinct instructions contained in the book unfolded logically and clearly. This book helped me to forge ahead, undaunted, with my plans for a new business. Each step of the way, I understood what and why I was doing what I was doing. This is a great resource!

Book Description

An original book that goes to the core of current thinking in business leadership to demonstrate the value of focusing on leadership in fostering creativity and innovation. It outlines principles, ideas and overwhelmingly practical frameworks that are applicable to all industries, providing key profiles of such 'creators' as a Nobel Prize-winner, a BBC TV director and a BT project group leader that will inspire every project group leader or individual involved in any kind of creative work. Helpful diagrams showing the qualities of effective leaders can be used for self-assessment as readers progress through each stage.

Customer Reviews:

The real leadership challenge!.......2001-03-30

At last! A book that sensibly addresses the real challenge for businesses. It's one thing to teach creative techniques, it's another to enable creativity to happen in teams and organizations.

John Whatmore has hit the nail on the head with his practical and pertinent book. All managers and leaders should read this!

Book Description

Providing comparisons to the United States and Britain, this book examines Japan's postwar consumer protection movement. Organized largely by and for housewives and spurred by major cases of price gouging and product contamination, the movement led to the passage of basic consumer protection legislation in 1968. Although much of the story concerns the famous "iron triangle" of big business, national bureaucrats, and conservative party politics, Maclachlan takes a broader perspective. She points to the importance of activity at the local level, the role of minority parties, the limited utility of the courts, and the place of lawyers and academics in providing access to power. These mild social strategies have resulted in a significant amount of consumer protection.

Average customer rating:

Consumer Politics in Postwar Japan
Patricia L. Maclachlan
Manufacturer: Columbia Univ Pr 01/1//2001
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N5VECK

Average customer rating:

Consumer Politics in Postwar Japan
Patricia L. Maclachlan
Manufacturer: Columbia University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OPVNRK

Book Description

The authors of this book work from the premise that some plain talk is needed about the subject of evaluation in vocational education and training. After providing substantive background on the conceptual issues, the book focuses on the why and how of evaluation before presenting and judging the results of available evaluations. The discussion takes in the use and abuse of available evaluation results in policy-making and the implications for evaluation of recent trends and issues in VET such as decentralization, the declining role for governments, the shift towards work-based learning and the continued concern for meeting equity concerns through vocational education and training.

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The cataclysmic end of the new economy signaled not only a stock implosion but also a dramatic denouement in what was actually a decade-long history of "technology for the sake of technology". This revelation and return to rational thinking seems self-evident: what executive, after all, would willingly throw millions of dollars at an investment without knowing how it could affect their business? If we use history as a guide and tally up the waste, the answer is an unpalatable, "a lot".Now, corporations are demanding the same accountability from their IT investments that they do from their other assets, as they hold technology initiatives to real, bottom-line business results. As any decision-maker charged with overseeing how technology affects the business and vice versa knows, get it right and you're lionized as a savior; get it wrong and you're cast out as a pariah. Combining proven guidance with object lessons from Fortune 500 executives and industry authorities in, The Alignment Effect, Faisal Hoque compellingly illustrates how corporations can align themselves through Business Technology Management, thereby increasing their efficiency and reducing the financial and operational risks that have long been associated with implementing complex business and technology change.

Customer Reviews:

No help for the weary.......2004-10-27

I picked up this book after realizing the company is a vendor at our firm.

I liked the forward and introduction. The book hits a nerve in today's enterprise. Everywhere I turn, and every other planning meeting here, the subject of IT alignment shows up.

I read through the major sections to improve my skills. The principles are very mushy and hard to apply. Practical advice is non-existent.

The author abandons software engineering, project planning, and IT management. She presents a strange collection of people-centric approaches and age-old groupware ideas. As if the only issue is not enough meetings and fuzzy stuff. The fuzzy stuff can help, but at the end of the day, business has many really tough challenges. This book offers no short cut and no help.

MIS Ills explored.......2004-02-14

Hoque gives great information on what troubles IT today. The Alignment Effect is quite fun to read. I think he gave me a sense of the IT situation in most corporations, beyond the few places I've been in my career.

If I'd gained a sense of how to fix things, I'd give the book 3 or 4 stars. Unfortunately, I didn't get any sense of how to change things. The lack of suggestions to drive change is a shortcoming and left me empty and feeling partly like I wasted my time.

I liked Sarv Devaraj's book on the IT payoff much better. It is dry and harder to read. On the plus side, it gives me an idea of what to measure and change first.

Quick Read.......2004-01-15

A quick pass through this book gives you a sense of issues for IT departments. Credibility is down, budgets squeezed, half finished projects. IT is in the dumps these days.

I get the feeling Faisal Hoque thinks IT departments area stupd. They should be closely monitored by business leaders at all times. I agree.

The book gives you a good sense of issues. It falls short on presenting solutions.

It nicely covers IT governance. It is a good intro or refresher for governance and hits the right points for me.

Prof Roger Ellenhurst.......2003-12-12

'The Alignment Effect' is a review of issues related to the "business technology disconnect."

The highly anecdotal chapters are nicely written and include cameo references from a variety of credible people. Unfortunately, the result is an informal hodgepodge of IT assessments and claims that lead to uncharted waters, which would likely lead to results more pernicious than the problem.

There are many books that integrate portfolio management, project management, and IT planning with a dose of knowledge management and collaboration that help accomplish the claimed results without entering the over-simplified world that this book presents.

My comments on each major section:

Section 1 -- A wordy regurgitation of the fact that IT doesn't always get everything right the first time. This is clearly an attempt to build credibility, but fails to me, since this problem has been well known since the 70s.

Section 2 -- A totally informal section, purporting to be "principles," yet failing to deliver any real framework for understanding or action. It doesn't even clarify or regurgitate, I'm not sure where this stuff comes from. I don't sense any deep understanding of IT or its issues. It reads well, but says nothing useful.

Section 3 -- This tries to turn the essence of section 2, whatever that could be, into action, apparently to make the book a practical guide. It tries to give an enlightened holistic sounding end-to-end view, and fails, leaving only something more like the cuttings from Pulp Fiction or Memento. The coverage of business models is more like how to organize a simple table of contents and document your business model. The real point is business model documentation, not definition. The book shows know understanding of a "business model" in any sense from marketing through finance. The discussion of process optimization is thin and useless, hundreds of books are available that cover process design and implementation quite well -- skip this section. The conversion of all this into "automation" goes into a toddler-like realm of simplicity, and not in the positive senses that might connote.

Section 4 -- On to Governance, another hot buzzword. Loosely speaking, this section tries to build on the earlier sections to talk to modern governance issues. This is the dangerous section. There is nothing to base this section on, the book isn't a new framework or idea, not even a good regurgitation of present knowledge. The governance section does elucidate goals of governance reasonably, but suggests a governance approach that will be as unresponsive to real technology issues as the absolute worst of IT departments might be to business issues. At best, this section would help swing the pendulum the other way, though it would more likely just cut it off.

Sadly, the book has good style, presentation, and writing, but lacks useful or coherent content. The few reasonable ideas that appear are endlessly repeated, suggesting the author doesn't believe the reader gets it the first five times. More likely, the author has nothing else to say.

The book is timely, but misses the mark. There are many solid books in this arena that are based in workable practices, yet remain high accessible to a broad audience. This book seems highly rushed to me, like the author had an idea and the book came out 30 days later. Somehow the style is good, but the content lacks research or forethought.

Professor Roger P. Ellenhurst
California University Coalition

Strong opinions; risky and unproven approach.......2003-10-31

I've read about a dozen books on the topic of strategic outcomes for IT. The "alignment" theme with various names is common in them all.
I expected this book to help me in my role as a strategic IT practices advisor.
After a thorough reading the book seems naive to me. It suggests only obvious practices. When real issues are mentioned, the answer is you need a product. The book seems like a paper about the authors product.
This is no case study. The book offers many stories to show a real problem exists. It doesn't give me any sense that this approach has been used before. This is my biggest complaint.
I'm expected by clients to make good recommendations. I would never suggest that my clients try such an approach, with or without the product. I believe the book is all form and little substance.

The Alignment Effect: How to Get Real Business Value Out of Technology

Average customer rating:

The Alignment Effect: How to Get Real Business Value Out of Technology
Faisal Hoque
Manufacturer: FT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OHXEP2

Book Description

Advanced Topics in End User Computing features the latest research findings dealing with end user computing concepts, issues, and trends. Empirical and theoretical research concerned with all aspects of end user computing including development, utilization, and management are included. Volume two is specifically interested in those studies that show a significant contribution by relating end user computing to end user satisfaction, end user productivity, and strategic and competitive advantage.

*Note: This book is part of a new series entitled "Advanced Topics in End User Computing". This book is Volume Two within this series (Vol. II, 2003).

Download Description

Advance Topics in End User Computing features the latest research findings dealing with end user computing concepts, issues, and trends. It provides a forum to both academics and information technology practitioners to advance the practice and understanding of end user computing in organizations. Empirical and theoretical research concerned with all aspects of end user computing including development, utilization and management are included.

Customer Reviews:

vital and timely book.......2002-08-15

If computing is to achieve its fullest potentail, it is vital that EUC is leveraged to a greater extent than at present. Certainly, the EUC area has matured considerably in the past few years. This maturation is evidenced by this book which makes a vital contribution. It is unique in its focus on a broad range of areas: medical informatics, the contribution of various factors to succesful EUC development of IS, and the role of tools in EUC. It represents the leading thinking by a range of expert researchers and practitioners in this vitally important area.

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