2 comments about The ITIL V3 Factsheet Benchmark Guide - An Award-Winning ITIL Trainer s Tips on achieving ITIL V3 and ITIL Foundation Certification for ITIL Service Management.

1. This is not a good book to use to study to be ITIL v3 certified. It's just like the title claims...it is a bunch of fact sheets. Some sheets seem like posters that were shrunk down to 8.5 x 11. Pretty hard to read at that typeset. I bought it to help study to get certified and found it to be useless for that purpose. It may be good if you want to create your own posters and use the ones in this book as templates. Otherwise pass by this book and look for something else.
   Greg
   BTW: I am ITIL v3 certified, but no thanks to this book.



2. This book delivered exactly, and more, what it promised. We got extensive insight into the ITIL V3 processes, activities and their relationships from this title. Something we have ONLY been able to retrieve from this book and nowhere else.
   
   This book is unique in its offer: the Mindmaps, the added ITIL process information is invaluable, and the book is set up and laid out in a way that makes it easy to navigate and supports us in considering which ITIL move we need to make next in order to gain maximum benefit and momentum form ITIL v3.
   
   I highly recommend this book, this is the best in its kind for your ITIL V3 initiatives/rollouts.

5 comments about Today Matters: 12 Daily Practices to Guarantee Tomorrow's Success.

1. The key concepts in this book for me were the following:
   Settle critical issues once and for all - Then you will not have to revisit them daily. John Maxwell talks about how the earlier you settle the critical issues in your life the greater the potential for your success. Thus by avoiding procrastination on these key choices, you will no longer feel the guilty feelings associated with them.
   
   The concept that the "pain" of discipline is
   "momentary" but the benefit of it is long lasting (lasting the ENTIRE day - 16 hours of the day)was a revelation for me.
   
   The funniest part was the morning prayer he included:
   "Dear Lord - So far today I am doing alright,
   I have not gossiped, lost my temper, been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish or self indulgent.
   I have not whined, cursed or eaten any chocolate - however,
   I am going to get out of bed in a few minutes and I will need a lot more help after that."
   
   I highly recommend this CD. I find myself listening to it again and again, stopping it and jotting notes down.
   
   Finally, I really found the values section in the 12th daily dozen to be unique and original. I haven't found anything like it in ANY other book of it's kind
   This CD is a BUY



2. Wonderful book that really helps you focus on what is important. A must read for everyone.



3. This audio book is really great! Every one needs to read books of this kind time to time but this one is realistic and very empowering.



4. While the content is excellent, the audio CD's are identical to the "Make Today Count" audio book by the same author. It is, in my opinion, deceptive to market the same product with two different titles.



5. Wow with the busieness of life and all we tend to do this really makes you REALLY put your prioities in order and start working on JUST today and what really matters. I have recommended this to a few of my friends.... Loved it

5 comments about Investing: The Last Liberal Art.

1. I read a book entitled "latticework" by the same author and I ordered this title thinking it would be a continuation of the subject. Unfortunately it is the same book with the different title. I am a little ticked because it was not obvious when I submitted my order



2. This extremely well researched and written book argues for a liberal education - that is a process of continual learning in different fields/areas in order to improve understanding of how the world works. In relation to investing this means that just doing a finance or economics degree is not enough (although obviously helpful) and that knowing something from areas such as Psychology, Philosophy, biology, history will help you improve your performance.

   As well as about being about stock market investing, the book makes a strong case for a more liberal education at University, not only to improve students'job prospects, but also the way they will live their lives (and consequently affect others).

   Read it.




3. A good, but light introduction to various liberal arts subjects for interested investors. The subjects R. Hagstrom tackles are topics any liberal arts major in college would've already been exposed to in varying degrees, however, for MBA's and those out there who've not yet "invested" their own time into "life's larger issues" and subjects, then this book is an excellent jumping off point.

   On the flip side, those of us who have spent a lot of time studying and thinking about liberal arts, and are new to business and investing but would like to learn more, Hagstrom's book helps synthesize the business/investment world with various disciplines which at first glance seem not to be related, but which in actuality, as Hagstrom shows, are inextricably linked.

   Overall, I recommend this book along with Peter Lynch's, "One Up on Wall Street" for serious long-term investors who understand that there's more to life than income producing stocks.




4. Robert Hagstrom (Sr VP of Legg Mason Focus Capital) has written a light, entertaining interdisciplinary book about investing with an open mind. His main thesis is that ideas about investing, economics, and markets are part of a larger body of human knowledge, yet the pressures of the modern world tend to make us specialize in one field. However, by searching out connections and parallels between markets/finance and ideas in diverse fields of knowledge, we can (hopefully!) invest in a more insightful way.
   
   Hagstrom then takes us on a tour of physics, biology, social sciences, psychology, philosophy and literature. In approximately 20-page chapters, he presents some essentials in each field that apply to investing.
   
   Physics, for example, has long embraced the notion of equilibrium. Equilibrium also permeates finance; for example, supply and demand are equilibrated by the proper price. A key idea in biology is Darwinian natural selection. Hagstrom draws parallels between natural selection and the evolution of profitable trading strategies; unprofitable strategies die off in the process of competition.
   
   The social sciences also give us insights into how people behave in groups, whether as political parties, as investors, or as cultures. These fields show emergent behavior of groups of individuals, and that the behavior of the group is more than the sum of it's parts. In economies, Adam Smith's "invisible hand" guides us towards the goal of properly rationing resources. Cities evolve distinct neighborhoods without any centralized planning. The stock market crashes occasionally as investors react to others reactions.
   
   Psychology is also an area of prime interest to investors, because emotion and cognition influence decision-making. The emerging field of behavioral finance has shown that the market tends to overreact to news, and that a contrarian investment strategy can be profitable. Indeed, investors can often attest to an internal struggle between fear of and greed. Unchecked, these can lead to gold rushes, internet mania, or stock market crashes.
   
   In the field of philosophy, Hagstrom focuses on the "pragmatism" movement in America, which believed that ideas are "true" if they have practical value and provide some benefit to you, rather than conforming to some transcendent absolute "truth." Adopting a pragmatic point of view may allow a trader to more easily move to a new trading model or cut losses rather if a given model or position isn't working.
   
   Finally, Hagstrom discusses literature. He notes that literature not only stretches our imagination, but it can also teach us to read analytically, think critically, separate fact from opinion, and to discuss ideas with an open mind. This mental flexibility is crucial not only as investors in digesting news, but also as human beings.
   
   In many of these chapters, Hagstrom returns to the emerging science of complex adaptive systems, which provides a unifying theme. Complex adaptive systems have a large number of individual units, and these units can be anything - ants, neurons, votors or investors. These units change or adapt their behavior based on their interactions with other units as well as the overall system. These systems have self-organizing properties, and generate emergent behaviour beyond the behavior of individual units (i.e. cities `spontaneously' form distinct cultural neighborhoods without planning). These systems are constantly evolving and in flux, and occasionally go through periods of sudden change (like an avalanche, or stock market crash). The common qualities of complex adaptive systems have implications for investors. The market will always be in flux, not in equilibrium, and it's more organic and emotional than mechanistic; as a result, it has small constantly changing inefficiencies that people compete to take advantage of.
   
   Overall, my one general criticism of the book is that one can see how these fields might apply to investing at a concept level, but of course "the devil is in the details." If you're an experienced investor, you will NOT read about how all this applies to the CAPM, or what you should do now with your 401(k). But to be fair, Hagstrom says in his preface that that's not his goal - it would be impossible in one book to flush out all the details. That being said, I thought it was valuable how he described the interdisciplinary fields of "complex adaptive systems" and "behavioral finance" - these are indeed important new areas of research, ones that may reap benefits in the future. Without an interdisciplinary view of finance, these promising fields would not have come into being.
   
   So in summary, I think this was a light, quick, enjoyable quick tour through the intellectual history of many fields. It was a valuable reminder to think outside of one's discipline to keep perspective and gain new insights. So if you want to think in a broader way about markets, then I'd recommend it.



5. "Investing: The Last Liberal Art" and "Latticework: The New Investing" are exactly the same book with exactly the same content up to the page numbers. Just the book name and book cover were changed. It's not clear why the publisher changed the book name but after purchasing both books I find highly misleading.

1 comments about Secrets to Millionaire Success: Expert Solutions to Grow Your Personal Wealth (Audio Success).

1. Secrets To Millionaire Success: Expert Solutions To Grow Your Personal Wealth. The title and the packaging caught my eye and then I read the description. Eleven experts were sharing their expertise on 14 audio CD's and 1 DVD.
   
   I immediately started walking toward the checkout and getting out my money. To me, this set sounded like hope in a box. Did it live up to my expectations?
   
   First of all let me say, I am a big believer that if you garner one new idea, "aha" or concept from a book, CD or DVD, it's worth your time, energy and money.
   
   The box description promises "hours of inspiration and practical steps to power-up your life." I liked the fact that the speakers were giving me pro-active solutions for taking better control of my life and my money. The combination of subjects and speakers were a good mix of old school, new school and real world advice.
   
   Here are my favorites:
   
   CD 1: Finding Financial Freedom to Ensure a Fantastic Finish - Chris Widener -I'd never listened to this author before so I was starting from scratch. It was good sound financial advice.
   
   CD 2: Millionaire Secrets - Loral Langemeier - I've heard Loral speak in person and I had high expectations for this CD. I wasn't disappointed. It's motivational and practical all at the same time. Loral shares techniques for becoming the moneymaker and millionaire you are meant to become. This one ranks right up there with my favorites. I took away several ideas.
   
   CD 5-7: The Richest Man in Babylon: Dr. Denis Waitley - Well worth the price of the entire set! Dr Waitley presents this classic book with his personal style and interpretation. He shares the success secrets of the ancients as only he can. It's three CD's of note taking and totally absorbed listening. This is why Denis Waitley is one of the "father's" of the modern self-development movement.
   
   CD 8-9: The 12 Secrets of Self-Made Multi-Millionaires: Dr Denis Waitley - More Denis Waitley! He has a captivating and unique way of combining the philosophical and the practical. His voice is easy to listen to and his message is timeless.
   
   CD 11: Twenty-One Qualities of Self-Made Millionaires: Brian Tracy - Here is another "father" of the modern self-development movement. I've been a Brian Tracy fan for years. He doesn't disappoint. In his simple, real world and practical way Brian Tracy gives you the step-by-step formula for becoming a millionaire.
   
   CD 12: Thin and Wealthy: Donna Krech - I didn't know what to expect from this CD. It isn't about diets and exercise; it's about taking care of yourself and increasing your wealth. I enjoyed it.
   
   CD 14: Share The Wealth: Bob Proctor - WOW! I was blown away. I've heard Bob "live" several times and each time I'm mesmerized. His information is right-on the mark. This CD is about the Universal Law of Circulation. It's a great listen.
   
   DVD 15: From Success to Significance: Dr. Sheila Murray Bethel - After I kept putting this in my CD player and nothing happened, I finally figured out this was the DVD. It was well worth watching. This final lesson is more personal than wealth building but a powerful lesson on which to end the series.
   
   Obviously some I liked better than others. It's all a matter of personal taste. The information was useful in all of them so all in all, it's well worth the money.
   
   This is not an inexpensive set of experts to buy, but you're getting "experts!" I came away with several new ideas for changing my life and attitude for the positive. I recommend this set if you're serious about personal and financial development. Where else are you going to get all of this knowledge in one place?
   
   It's well worth every dollar if you can make many more dollars with just one new idea, "aha," or concept. And, it comes with its own carrying case to store all your discs.

5 comments about Outsmart the MBA Clones: The Alternative Guide to Competitive Strategy, Marketing and Branding.

1. This book, which I was privileged to read as a review copy of the publisher, contains a totally new approach to marketing, one that is not taught in business schools, one that is geared to today's changed consumer environment. For example, to read the author's description of the Joe Boxer phenomenon is for old fogies like me to have a lightbulb on the culture suddenly turn on.
   
   The book is full of extraordinary insights. A true page-turner, I highly recommend it.



2. Masters degrees in Business Administration (MBA) are not only being taught in elite schools, but in nearly every university, college, and diploma mill that can find some way to get accreditation. Most of the programs teach their students similar concepts in the core subjects of Financial and Management Accounting, Finance, Economics, Statistics, Operations, Organizational Behavior, Information Systems, Marketing and Corporate Strategy. If everyone has the same tools and book of tactics, including how to differentiate your company and create a competitive advantage, how can you actually compete and win in the real world? Worse, these kinds of programs train these managers to work, think, and fit in to the large companies that hire MBAs by the campusfull. That is why this book refers to MBA Clones and provides an approach that takes a different tack than standard MBA thinking would see.
   
   It isn't that what you learn as an MBA isn't valuable, it's that learning the core of a business program provides you with only a basic toolset. You still need to learn to apply them. However, if you apply them like everyone else (the problem with `best practices') you aren't creating a compelling advantage. The best business folks are artists and use their toolsets in powerfully creative ways to win in the marketplace.
   
   Dan Herman is a Ph.D. and CEO (and co-owner) of Competitive Advantages Ltd. Through which he and his team serve companies all around the world. Their goal is to help their clients identify growth opportunities and creating `unfair' competitive advantages. Along with this Advantagizing they help create powerful and compelling brands and profitable business models.
   
   In part 1 of this book provides a look at what Herman's views on some common myths of Competitive Advantage (that you have to be better than your competitors, that you have to endear yourself to as many customers as possible, and that your competitive edge is to be found on a parameter that is important in your business category. He then provides a secret to Differentiation and uses examples from Virgin, Google, Starbucks and others to show you what he is after.
   
   Part 2 explains their O-Scan (opportunity scan) method. It is about identifying insights about customers and what they are GOING to want (rather than what they are demanding today). You also learn to use a customers 15 stage consumption process to find points of pain and opportunity, to provide more consumer benefits, and seeing the hidden rules your competitors are using to win.
   
   Part 3 is provides Herman's views of Branding. First you have to understand the consumer's mind. I found this discussion of how the consumer experiences things, what they are trying to do, and how they for their beliefs to be quite interesting. Herman also rejects the idea that Branding creates brands. He says that it is the real success factors that you have identified previously that will provide substance and power to your brand. He provides the ABCDE of Brand Success: Attribution of benefit, Believability, Craving, Differentiation, and Ease of acting upon their desire.
   
   For Herman, brands are more about expectations, anticipations, and dreams that take them out of their hum-drum reality. It is about adventure, temptations, testing limits, nostalgia, and much more. The goal is to make your marketing electrifying to your customers. He also provides interesting chapters on developing marketing hits and how you can drive your consumers crazy about your brand.
   
   Is all this absolutely original and unique? Look, I have an MBA from the University of Michigan Business School and what he says here is consistent with what I learned there. The expectation I had upon graduation was to use what I learned creatively. What Herman does is help those interested in turning the toolkit you were given into a weapons system. And I think that is very worthwhile.
   
   Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI



3. "Outsmart the MBA Clones" by Dan Herman should definitely be considered as a textbook for business programs. This book uses real-life recent examples of companies, products, and services we know, explains how their creative innovations worked, and how some were imitated. Many companies and their products provide examples throughout this book. Starbucks, Google, Tower Records, Virgin, RIM's BlackBerry, etc. The days of Marlboro Man ads that go on year after year without adapting, are over.
   
   Most businesses are more similar than different. I'll go as far to say, they're basically the same.
   
   Not to be negative towards MBA programs, but many programs produce sheep. They are educational *institutions.* Mills. Fair enough. The knowledge and skills attained in these programs are needed and these courses often focus on graduates entering positions in established companies. Outsmart the Clones can enable you to be more innovative, adaptable, and think outside of the box. It's about tomorrow, not just today.
   
   Successful concepts and products can often, but not always, be mimicked. Today, there are often multiple brands competing for consumers in the same market niche. Herman notes the "Commoditization of Brands," where products are so similar consumers have trouble telling them apart. Obviously, once an idea or item that's copyable is produced, many others will duplicate and follow.
   
   There are sixteen chapters and three parts in Clones: 1) The debunking of Competitive Advantage. Today the focus should be on *Renewable* Competitive Advantage 2) O-scan, which focus on what customer will consume in the future 3) Branding.
   
   The benefit of this book is that you don't have to be in marketing, advertising, or management to benefit from it. There are also good quality illustrations, throughout.
   
   One concept noted by Herman is about the consumer (us humans), stated on page 243: "consumers live their lives, and in the frame of everything they do and go through they are constantly on the lookout for new opportunities to improve their existence. They search for solution to their problems, ways to prevent unwanted situations and experiences, opportunities to develop, improve, and advance themselves and their circumstances, and chances to have fun and enjoy live with their loved ones."
   
   Great point. And, a great book.



4. Long-term strategies have been replaced by ones that adapt and change as opportunities are identified.
   
   "Launch and forget" brands today, such as Marboro, are rare. They have been replaced by visual identities and advertising styles that change rapidly. To succeed over the long-term managements must succeed in the short-term time after time.
   
   Dan Herman, citing observations from Copernicus Marketing Consulting, argues brands are becoming like commodities. Consumers can no longer differentiate them from sugar, corn or cement. They are created by marketers who employ the same data, the same focus groups and data analysis. The marketers have become indistinguishable.
   
   In this new environment, Herman observes:
   
   1. Porter, Kotler, Aaker and Ries and their rules are obsolete.
   2. Marketers need to understand nature's rules. They need to be able to devise alternatives paths to the same goals.
   3. Theoretical concepts are tools for thinking about reality. They are not reality itself.
   
   If you are a seasoned marketer, this book is different from another you have read. Herman's fresh thinking about competitive advantage, marketing, customer segmentation, differentiation and branding will challenge your thinking. It is worth every penny of its cover price.



5. I am afraid that I have been dilatory in reading and reviewing this book. At the time of the offer, I appreciated the chance to read the text. It sounded like something that I would like and I always enjoy discovering a new author. Unfortunately, I went through a bad place where I started to hate all business books. I had the feeling that everything I read was more or less the same. I also started to feel as though most business books begin with a single good idea. Sometimes the exploration of that idea is worth an entire book. Mostly, however, I had the feeling that I was reading a puffed-up magazine article.
   
   I was very pleasantly surprised by Dr. Herman's book. I found it smart (maybe because I intuitively agreed with many of his ideas) and quite readable. There is a nice assortment of exercises, ideas and examples that flow together well. I found it useful to gain insight into the success of my own company's brand.
   
   Best of all, I found that it earned its 253 pages. There was very little puffery, if any.
   
   I would recommend it to others who are looking to build or develop their business. Well done. The best business book that I have read in a while.

No comments about Some of the Essentials of Finance and Investment (University Textbooks).

5 comments about Find It, Fix It, Flip It!: Make Millions in Real Estate--One House at a Time.

1. Not sure, I'd recommended this for someone unless you are flipping at California area.
   Thanks
   Hobi



2. I am in the real estate business in Florida.Great book! Easy- to- read, clear, concise and instructive with alot of general real estate info as well as a clear, excellent guide to finding a property, fixing it, finding the buyer and flipping it.Separated into three areas for easy reference with specific advise about pitfalls as well.
   Overall, a very recommended buy for anyone interested in flipping properties.



3. I've read a number of books on this subject and found this one much more detailed and filled with far more practical information than the others.
   He even gives you a method to figure out the profitability of a flip that's easy to use. This allows you to set a budget for your flip so you know where you need to be to make money. His no BS approach keeps your feet on the ground so you understand that a lot of what you have to learn is through experience but he gives you enough info to be well armed to win.
   E. Lobato



4. This was the third book I read on the subject of flipping real estate and while it wasn't worst book I've read, much of the information seemed to be a repeat of what the others covered. There still is plenty of information contained within that other authors never mention, so this is still worth reading if you're exploring the topic.
   
   I started with Kirsten Kemp's Flipping Confidential which I found to be a well organized primer on flipping. If you've never read any books on the subject, start with that book first.
   
   If you want a true, step-by-step manual, try Rick Villani's FLIP: How to Find, Fix, and Sell Houses for Profit. After reading that book, I felt like I had a clear program to follow and had I had the cash, I would have been ready to start flipping.



5. Good book, easy to read with easy-to-use formulas. However, it is meant for beginners; there's alot more to know about the process.

1 comments about Practicing Financial Planning for Professionals , Practitioners' Version (10th Edition).

1. y Jeffers "CFP" (New York) - See all my reviews
   If you are looking for a complete and easy to use "bible" for the financial planner or are a student of financial planning this book is probably my favorite. It is COMPLETE. I used this book years ago as an instructor and found that I kept it as a reference to use in my practice.
   I recently received the latest edition as a gift to replace my shopworn copy and find to it to be up to date, easy to use and still the first book I grab when I need to reference something that I have forgotten over the years or simply don't know.
   I appreciate the depth of this book and recommend it to my fellow planners as the best book to own for good, quick answers or to students who really want to know the subject matter in a complete way.
   Before you order keep in mind this isn't a quick read, it's a BIG book and full of information.

No comments about Financial Planning for the Older Client.

2 comments about Modelling Financial Times Series.

1. The first edition was published in 1986. It is EXCELLENT. Taylor rigorously studies the use of nonlinear time-series (Box-Jenkins) methods to trade a variety of financial markets, including individual stocks, stock indices, currencies, metals, and agricultural commodities, finding that there is a small trend component in most markets that can be profitably traded. Taylor performed testing of time series back in the early 1980s, when computer power and financial data was much scarcer and more expensive. I am excited to see what he has come up with, now that computers and data are a zillion times cheaper.



2. This is (still) an excellent book, ahead of its time when published in 1986. One of the issues he dealt with was the possible modifications to option pricing models (black-scholes type) that could be made to account for trending markets. This was before the crash of '87 and the subsequent wide-spread adoption of skewed volatility smiles and risk-reversals into option pricing.

   This book is probably out of print permanently, but the author is working on a new book, the provisional title of which is "Asset Price Dynamics and Prediction" Target Date of March 2004. The chapters are loosely based on subjects covered in Modelling Financial Time series.

   Chapter headings for Modelling Financial Time series:

   1. Introduction
   2. Features of financial returns
   3. Modelling price volatility
   4. Forecasting standard deviations
   5. The accuracy of autocorrelation estimates
   6. Testing the random walk hypothesis
   7. Forecasting trends in prices
   8. Evidence against the efficiency of futures markets
   9. Valuing options
   10. Concluding remarks
   Appendix : a computer program for modelling financial time series