books

Summer is in in full swing and so it is that the summer reading lists are out! I was actually inspired to do this list while I was looking around in Borders Bookstore last weekend, and yet there wasn't a single book that I saw that I wanted to buy, except for the books that we bought for our daughter's summer reading plan. It's been quite some time since I actually bought a new book. No doubt, my own bookshelf if full of good stuff that needs to be revisited, after all, that's the reason I bought them to begin with.

So I've been going through my own bookshelf and revisiting several books that I bought previously for my list this summer. Although there are several others that I have that are newer, these are the ones that I'm focusing on. There are some old ones and some newer ones; some spiritually focused, some business focused; some fiction, some non-fiction. I tend to go through them pretty quickly, so I'm sure that there will be others, but this makes up the list for my summer agenda.    Read more »

If you enjoy books that are full of wisdom, and brilliant insights then you will love Thou Shalt Prosper: Ten Commandments for Making Money by Rabbi Daniel Lapin. This book provides solid, ethical principles that guide the reader in understanding how prosperity is a blessing from God, that there is great value in hard work and how the generation of wealth is a natural by-product of approaching business from a servant's perspective.

Rabbi Lapin points out there is a disproportionate amount of Jews among the world’s most successful business leaders and makes the emphatic point that it’s not by accident, or some other genetic indicator, but by creating a culture that believes in the inherent value of ethical capitalism that is reinforced generation after generation that is responsible. This is an incredibly compelling book rich in detail and robust in content. Rabbi Lapin shows how traditional Jewish culture and values reinforce and breed a belief that business is not only moral but that the fair exchange of goods and services make the world a better place leaving both the seller and the buyer better off than prior to the transaction

It will become more apparent as you go through the book, but it seems in traditional Jewish culture they are taught the value of work and money at a very young age and it's reinforced throughout their lives. This belief in the inherent value and morality of work and wealth creation is reinforced also in the Hebrew bible (Old Testament). Just a glance at many heroes of the OT will show that they were richly blessed with material wealth in addition to their spiritual wealth - Abraham, Moses, David amongst others.    Read more »

Want to get a great overview for business applications of social media?  Look no further than Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff.

For those who work with social media, this is an invaluable introduction to the topic and gives great coverage to what companies are doing to adapt to this new world. The fact of the matter is that regardless of the size of your company, dealing with social media is not a choice, but that's not a bad thing.  However, what is important is that managers, executives, and marketing departments need to get up to speed on the various aspects of social media.    Read more »

This year, it's my goal to read a book a week.  Long ago I learned that constantly adding to your value as a person through a commitment to life-long learning makes you not only more valuable in the marketplace, but also more valuable to your family, friends, and on your job.  There are a lot of things that war for your time, but few can be as rewarding as turning off the television, and digging in to a good book. 

So far, I'm behind - I'm not making good progress.  But there are legitimate reasons for that, and I plan to redouble my efforts and get back on track. I've finished a couple, and most recently I've picked up a couple that are going to take far longer than a week to read.  But that leads me to my next thought - what to read?  The most recent books I've ordered from Amazon are both very dense, heavy material that will take some time to work through. So with that, I'm planning on reading these at the same time that I'm reading something not quite so rich. 

So my bookshelf will continue to expand with a variety new titles, but I will also add a page here to chroincle my goal with my reading list and reviews.     Read more »