books, art, music

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Grady Harp is an Amazon Top 10 Reviewer

Too often self-help books stimulate the reader while the pages turn, but after the back cover closes the session is over and on we go.

David M. Traversi avoids that route in publishing The Source of Leadership: Eight Drivers of the High-impact Leader , the result of his years as a motivational speaker and writer and coach, that on the surface is a primer for executive search teams to determine who among the hundreds of applicants for CEO jobs deserve to be termed ‘leaders’, but for the average leader, Traversi has written an extremely user friendly manual that allows the reader to open the potential of personal lives to be everything each of us can be. It is stimulating reading and an enormously helpful guide for self-improvement.

Traversi talks about the ‘persona’ and the ’shadow’ aspects of our personalities: the ‘persona’ is Continue reading »

About a decade ago, Emotional Intelligence, (EI), was recognized to be a far better indicator of success in the work world than IQ.

However, the key question that remained was, how do you raise you EI?Dr. Reldan S. Nadler’s book, Leaders’ Playbook answers that question. The Leaders’ Playbook is a how-to guide with more than 100 EI techniques and tools to help raise EI.

Nadler, an executive coach and speaker also reveals the secrets of success in fascinating thumbnail EI stories of corporate star performers, political leaders and sports coaches.

Examples include:

• Rudy Giuliani.s perfect pitch of empathy and vision after 911
• G.E.s Jeff Immelt.s managing adversity
• eBays Meg Whitman’s initiative and service orientation
• USC’s Pete Carroll’s optimism and developing star players and championship teams Continue reading »

Grady Harp is an Amazon Top 10 Reviewer

Timothy Sykes steps into the forum of books on Hedge Funds with one terrific advantage: Sykes shares his initial interest, his development, his experience, and his successful creation of a Hedge Fund that made him a millionaire and an acknowledged expert in the field of Finance by age 26! In his book, An American Hedge Fund: How I Made $2 Million as a Stock Operator & Created a Hedge Fund , Sykes proves that in addition to his extraordinary gift as an entrepreneur he is also a very fine writer, able to communicate his dream and his reality with a forceful, compelling style that will find an audience among those who wish to understand the seeming conundrum of the Stock Market.

Sykes relates this resource book on understanding finance in a personal, autobiographical manner. His tone, while always serious, manages to be light and wholly understandable, no small feat for a subject as daunting as Hedge Funds. Continue reading »

Many ‘Captains of industry’ have committed their innermost thoughts to books after they have retired. Many of these books are insightful, and educational, but generally speaking they are dry and boring, unless you have a specific interest in their company or industry.

Allen Rosenshine, author of  Funny Business: Moguls, Mobsters, Megastars, And the Mad, Mad World of the Ad Game, is the exception to this rule.  This guy could easily climb up on the stage of your local ‘Improv’ and do a 20 minute stand alone comedy routine.

OK, so who is Allen Rosenshine? He is not someone that you would likely know unless you are in the advertising business, but as the head man at BBDO and later Omnicon, this was the man in charge of the worlds most influential advertising agency.

Allen has produced a book of 2-3 page vignettes, some are rueful and thought provoking, but the vast majority are just downright gut busting funny. It is hard to pick my favorites, they are all my favorites. Allen is not shy about sharing his most embarrassing moments, and he has plenty of them. Continue reading »

Erlend Peterson’s newest book, Rich by Choice: A Complete Guide to Your Financial Success, helps readers understand that they have a choice or whether or not he/she chooses to become rich (financially) or struggle without wealth. He claims that “most of the people around you will continue to make the wrong choices.”

Not wanting to be classified as “most of the people” I was eager to delve into “Rich by Choice” to see if, according to Peterson, I was on the correct track.  I was also enthusiastic in learning new ways of creating or sustaining wealth.  Peterson did not let me down.

One thing Peterson is clear about is that being rich is having $2,000,000 or more in liquid assets – cash, mutual funds, annuities, stocks/bonds, and the cash value of a life insurance policy.  It does not mean a huge house, a new expensive car, nor does it mean taking long vacations. Basically, what it does mean is the investments can be sold for cash or left to grow to generate income.  Peterson also adds that real estate, which has a net profit of 20% or more, can be considered as a liquid asset. Continue reading »

Are you clowning around with your career? Or do you equate your professional life to a Three-Ring Circus? Then take a read of My Office Is a My Office Is A 3-Ring Circus!: Must I Take Orders From Clowns?, by Judy Weigle.

Everyone makes this comparison…My Office Is A 3-Ring Circus…and uses this phrase to refer to all the crazy things that can challenge you in your job and business relationships.

Learn how to roar back successfully in office power struggles.

Through the 4 Performance Tools, 11 Performance Tips, and the career invention techniques of the Performance Tricks you will receive a blueprint formula for success and enjoyment in any career choice you make.

Let change be your graceful high wire act. Continue reading »

Business Guru Jane Treber Macken calls on her 36 years of acclaimed expertise in the business field to put together her first book, The Art of Managing: How to Build a Better Workplace and Relationships. 

Her vast knowledge in both business and psychology bring a holistic flow to her methods, making her strategy a natural marriage between the two fields.  “Bridging business and psychology will assist you not only in managing your workplace, but also in managing your personal life.  Both are really about successfully managing relationships.”

“The Art of Managing” is the enlightened manager’s guide to a more effective management style.  It teaches and sharpens skills in successful communication based on personality types and levels of ability and motivation.  By positively exploiting certain character ‘flaws’ and traits and knowing another’s behavior style, managers can boost both individual vision and group interoperability.  Continue reading »

Ditching Debt and Money…It’s Not Just for Rich People!
by Janine Bolon

Ever wonder how some people manage to get it together financially and then keep it that way and others don’t? This book tells you how to manage your finances now and in the future using the 60/40 principle.

The 60/40 Principle is the backbone of a simple system Bolon created to help her own family gain financial independence. It worked so well that she now spends her time teaching this principle to others. Thousands of people are now discarding debt and winning wealth.

Bolon’s book, Money . . . It’s Not Just for Rich People relates five simple principles that govern how money runs or ruins your life and gives you step-by-step instructions and real examples to help you move from fiscal deprivation to wealth accumulation.

Ditching Debt is a 50-page book that gives you three simple exercises that can change your fiscal outlook in as little as three months if you follow the instructions as outlined. It was created for those readers who feel that Money…It’s Not Just for Rich People! was beyond their current situation. Continue reading »

The Art of Managing
by Jane Macken

At last, a book that bridges the worlds of business and psychology.

The Art of Managing is an easy-to-read history of management theory, leadership, and organizational effectiveness.

Using this book, readers will be able to develop three key attributes to successfully manage both work and personal life. In addition, they will learn the useable tools for forming effective teams and motivating people to action.

Successful business relationships are built on honesty and emotional maturity. By developing good advocacy and inquiry skills and making progress of understanding and working on eliminating your shadow, your behaviors become more compassionate toward others. Personal mastery is not only working on Self, but also a willingness to get to know me.

The leaders Macken interviewed show patience and connectedness to others, including expecting no more or no less from others than they were willing to do, controlling their emotions by seeing the situation from others’ point of view, trusting others, being trustworthy, and being raised to treat people kindly and with humanity. Continue reading »

This article was submitted by  Francine Silverman, author of
Talk Radio for Authors: Getting Interviews Across the U.S. and Canada

As an on-line publicist for some 80 authors, I try to get them spots on talk radio shows. I have been successful in matching guests with hosts in many instances, but in the process have discovered an interesting phenomenon – something I call “rookie radio.” This does not refer to the caliber of the show or station, but rather the lack of information on the website.

Go to any talk radio station, especially terrestrial (those on the air with call letters), and you’ll find them sorely lacking. You may find the bios of the hosts but not the theme of their shows, or the theme of their shows but no contact information, or whether or not they invite guests, and, if so, what kind?

In contrast, authors with websites seek to promote their books on their sites with a bio of the author, excerpts, guest book, articles, and myriad other ways to showcase themselves and their books.

This shortage of information not only shortchanges guests but listeners as well.

Most shows stream on the Internet, but how does someone on the East Coast know that a show on the West Coast would interest them if there is no description of the show?

Seems to me that radio hosts want as many listeners as possible so why keep their shows a secret from the public?

I studied five talk radio sites at random and wrote to each station, including the above paragraphs of my article and pointing out to them what was missing from their websites.  I only received one reply – from Tom Collins, acting general manager at WBCK/WBFN/WRCC and operations director at WBCK/WBXX/WRCC/WBFN in Battle Creek Michigan. Continue reading »