We’ve narrowed down the best books that our community is talking about for our February Readers’ Choice poll to the following titles listed below. Read what they’re all about, and then cast your vote here. Voting concludes on Monday, February 20, 2012 at 11.59PM EST.
1. WorkQuake: Making the Seismic Shift to a “Knowledge Economy” by Paul Glover
With his distinctive, direct and oft-humorous approach, “recovering attorney” and long-time business and executive coach Paul Glover bares his knuckles to present 76 strategies and tips to thrive in the Knowledge Economy. This no-nonsense advice, gleaned from 25 years of helping businesses nationwide prosper, and his popular Bottom Line and Morning Mantra newsletters, carries you through the impact of the recent WorkQuake – the Industrial Economy’s final meltdown.
2. Confessions of a Reformed Control Freak by B.R. Smith
Managers aren’t born – they’re made. Communicating and interacting more effectively with people is a learned behaviour. I wrote this book in the hope that managers, team leaders and supervisors are able to learn from my sins. And trust me – in my 40+ year career as an award-winning entrepreneur and general manager for one of Canada’s best managed and most profitable companies, I’ve committed each one of these sins at one time or another.
“The Top Ten Sins Most Managers Make & How to Avoid Them” are woven into the ten chapters of this book. I know from my own experiences what works – and more importantly – what doesn’t work. If I knew then what I know now, there is no question I would have managed differently. After reading this book you will manage differently too.
Managing today is about attitude – not aptitude. You don’t need to be the smartest person in the room to be the most effective manager in the room. Today’s manager needs to do three things very well. They need to be able to communicate, educate and delegate. This book will teach you how to develop a 21st Century management style, improve individual and team performance, create lasting relationships and manage conflict, problem solve and deal with stressful situations better. And most importantly, it will teach you how to communicate and interact more effectively with clients and colleagues.
3. Go For No! Yes is the Destination, No is How You Get There by Richard Fenton and Andrea Waltz
In a world inundated with sales books on getting to yes, this book recommends just the opposite, focusing on how increasing your failure rate can greatly accelerate your movement toward ultimate success. Go for No! chronicles four days in the life of fictional character Eric Bratton, a call reluctant copier salesman who wakes up one morning to find himself in a strange house with no idea of how he got there. But this house doesn t belong to just anyone! It belongs to him… a wildly successful, ten years in the future version of the person he could become if he learns to overcome his self-limiting beliefs and overcome his fear of failure. Through the dialogue of the two main characters the authors have fashioned an entertaining story to present the key concepts essential to sales success. Readers learn… …What it takes to outperform 92% of the world s salespeople …That failing and failure are two very different things … Why it s important to celebrate success and failure … How to get past failures quickly and move on …That the most empowering word in the world is not yes… it s NO! Written to be intentionally short and to the point, Go for No! is a quick, fun read with valuable lessons that can change the way you think, sell, and live!
4. Zero Time Selling: 10 Essential Steps To Accelerate Every Company’s Sales by Andy Paul
Zero-Time Selling describes the 10 essential sales practices that will enable you to:
1. Sell more, faster, without adding headcount
2. Create value for customers and differentiate yourself from competitors by how you sell
3. Convert a greater percentage of your sales leads into orders
4. Build a loyal customer base and increase repeat business
5. Increase the productivity of all your sales channels
