Better and Faster by Jeremy Gutsche

 

  The world of commerce is made up of hunters and farmers.

    Farmers are basically people who take an idea and maintain the product and tend to protect the craft in hope of it replicating the success it once had.

    A hunter on the other hand will take the product and tweak it.  The author says, to win, you need to know where to hunt and how to leverage the momentum of your environment.

    A case in point is the present day Victoria’s Secret.

    Back in 1997 a man called Roy Raymond saw a need for a shop where men could come and buy lingerie for his loved one. He envisioned it as a guy-friendly place where men would be comfortable while their women shopped.

    Raymond launched a mail order catalog with pictures that that could be pinned up in locker rooms.

He marketed it to the wrong sex. It wasn’t until another retail magnate Leslie Wexner bought it from him that Victoria’s Secret found its audience.

    Wexner was a hunter type. He repositioned the catalog and redesigned the marketing to meet the woman’s eye.

     This book than details the contrast between the farmer type who is comfortable with things as they are since they have worked in the past and the hunter who is looking for opportunities to expand.

     Gutsche presents six patterns of opportunity that a hunter type should be aware of to master big forces and compete.

      I recommend this book for business entrepreneurs.

     I was sent this book free from blogging for books.org to be reviewed and was not required to give a positive press. All opinions expressed are those of the reviewer and not that of the publisher.

The Richest Man Who Ever Lived by Steven K. Scott

             In this expanded edition of the book Steven K. Scott looks at some secrets to success, wealth and happiness that King Solomon left for his son in the book of Proverbs. In sixteen chapters and two hundred sixty five pages the reader is taken on an excursion of what the Richest Man and the wisest man in the world had to say about life.

 Many people today come at you with plans to make riches. Few if any give you any advice for life. Proverbs is the book in the Bible in which King Solomon wrote instructive advise to his son. It is also applicable to our life  today

            In this book Scott makes Solomon his mentor,

            The writing style is friendly and flows. It caused me to consider the Proverbs differently. It held my interest. The information was presented thematically. By that I mean the theme was stated in the subtitle: “Secrets to Success, Wealth, and Happiness.”   Scott succeeded in fulfilling the promise. It was presented in a coherent manner.

            I recommend this book to everyone. Any book using Proverbs as a launch is welcome in my library      

            I received this book for free from Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy

     This is an old one but still a good one on procrastination. We all do it to some extent. The copy  right on this small paper back business edition of the book is 2001, 2002.So you can see it is old. Still, I feel the information is applicable today.
      Tracy uses 21 chapters and 113 pages not including the index to present his thesis. If we  do things in order of importance we should be able to control time.  We only have 24 hours in a day. Part of that is spent in making a living. We should learn how to work smart.  A list is the easiest way to keep track of what we need to do.
      He uses the frog as a metaphor for procrastination. We all have a frog to eat. It is the most important thing that needs to get done each day.
      Tracy is a motivational speaker. I don"\'t know if he is still around. But his teaching and words will be around long after he dies.

        As I sat in the library writing this a young man came up to me and told me how impressed he was with the book. He said it changed his life. That is a good recommendation.
        The book is put out by Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.