Bag The Elephant. Steve Kaplin. How to Win and Keep BIG Customers. 2005.
ISBN 1885167628. The first book I have found that squarely meets this
topic on the nose. He has a website www.differencemaker.com with many
resources and ways to buy this book. If you want to, need to or plain
old wondered how to, Bag a Really BIG Customer, this is the resource for
you. He has done it several times including Procter & Gamble. Very well
laid out and readable book in a no nonsense style. It gives you the
scoop in a great format and logical order. It is full of insights and
real case study anecdotes. Best sales book this year for me. A library
keeper. (Can you tell I liked it?)

Book reviews for the business side of the technology industry.

Secrets of Power Persuasion for Salespeople. Roger Dawson. 2004. ISBN
1564147428. (Author of The Secrets of Power Negotiation). I have his
previous book on tape and it has been a powerful assist in learning to
negotiate. This book is also very good. His examples and details are
right up there. Easy read and easy to put into practise. But it is more
than a sales book, it is a life book since it helps you with many daily
situations. Having an engineering background I am a poor listener ( If I
had the time I could just do a better job of anything myself) so I
appreciated his mastery tips on effective listening to folks in many
situations. Worth a read and I found it at a remainder store.
(Quick tip, often you can get these older books really inexpensively
from abebooks.com. I have had very good service from it)

Book reviews for the business side of the technology industry.

Superstar Sales Secrets. Barry Farber. 2003. ISBN 156414658. (Author of
The 12 Cliches of Selling). A simple little treasure trove of sales
techniques and ideas. The author has been there and done that and it
shows. Short, concise and very readable, this book (149pp) does not
steer you wrong.

Book reviews for the business side of the technology industry.

My Life as A Quant. Reflections on physics and Finance. Emmanuel Derman.
2004. 04713944203.
“Eman” moved from being a practicing physicist (Ph.D.) to being a
financial wizard on Wall Street. If you have ever wondered
how the really serious big money managers reassign their investment
risk, then you will learn lots from this book.
In a very distant past I fancied myself a mathematician, but this book
really pushed my envelope for understanding.
Not the easiest read, as the style is quite choppy.

Book reviews for the business side of the technology industry.

The First Venture Capitalist. Udayan Gupta. 2004. ISBN 1896209939.
The life of Georges Doriot. Leadership, Capital, and Business
organization.
“The General” was an unique individual who set an unbelievable standard
as he created the
US, Cdn and European VC markets that we know today. He refused to have
a biography
created while he was alive, so this is a collection of articles and
memories that were amassed after his
death. He drove the Harvard business school curriculum the early days,
organized the US Quartermasters Corp
for WWII and started key VC organizations. He harks from a much more
altruistic era. If you can find it
it is an enlightening read.

Book reviews for the business side of the technology industry.

Made in America. Sam Walton &John Huey.1992. ISBN 038546151. This is a
delightful book. Sam W wrote it as he was dying of cancer as a
leave behind for future Waltons. If some of the so called “Captains of
Industry” that are parading through the courts these days had followed
Waltons ethics shareholders would b a lot better served. Inspirational
and insightful of what drives retailers who do very well. Early on Sam
evidenced a desire to learn everything and he continued to his final
days. He proved that retail is all about the details, but he was also
terrific at hiring top quality people.

Book reviews for the business side of the technology industry.

Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance. Louis. V. Gerstner. 2003. ISBN
0060523808. (Brining IBM from the brink of bankruptcy to leading the
computer business again) Gerstner worked for McKinsey, AMEX , led RJR
Nabisco ( after Barbarioans at the Gate) and then IBM. Few of us
realized how close IBM came to falling apart in those days. Great story
, well written ( no ghost writing) and lots to learn for all technology
folks. Inspirational and a sound study of leadership. Worth reading a
few times

Book reviews for the business side of the technology industry.

Inevitable Surprises. Peter Schwartz. (Thinking ahead in a time of
turbulence). 2003. ISBN 1592400698. Schwartz was the author of The Art
of the Long View, one of my all time favorite startegy scenario books.
This ranks right up there. If you are thinking globally he covers so
many aspects of what could be coming down the pipe. A very good book and
a bookshelf keeper.

Note from Cruising (I was away for three weeks).
I found a workaround to
keep SPAM off my Blackberry. Pull (or push) all your mail through Gmail
and then forward it to the Blackberry. You can also keep all
attachments off the Blackberry if you wish this way by using a Gmail
filter. Out of the box, Gmail grabbed 90% of the SPAM.

Book reviews for the business side of the technology industry.