Account Planning in Salesforce. Unlock revenue from big customers to turn them into bigger customers. Donal Daly. 2013. ISBN 9781781191890.  A very useful ebook and not just if you are using Salesforce ( Although it would double the value to you)   This is perhaps the strongest argument for sales planning I have read  for quite some time. Sales leaders who are struggling with a sales team that fails to view planning as a valuable tool,will get a lot out of this book.   I also enjoyed the books brevity – It leaves nothing out but there are no extraneous words here.   Every sales leader could use this book as the execution is very clear.

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Top Dog. The Science of Winning and Losing. Po Bronson & Ashley Merrryman. 2013. ISBN 9781455515158.  An entertaining and well researched book, ( 80 pp of annotations and notes – very thorough). It touches facets of history, growth, gender and culture in this journey through competition.  Perfect for a coast to coast flight, this  well written  book will hold your interest and give you many bon mots for your next speaking gig.

• On Andy’s reading list
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Among Enemies. Counter- Espionage for the Business Traveller.  Luke Bencie.  2013. ISBN 9780988591912. This is not a joke.  The author really knows this stuff and if you travel internationally  at all much of what he says rings true.  He covers all aspects of locking down your Business Information/IP , where it is and how to do it step by step. I have a new appreciation of the “leakiness” of my electronic devices and forewarned is forearmed.   Easy read – this one is immediately useful.

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The Innovator’s DNA.  Mastering the five skills of disruptive innovators.  Jeff Dyer, Hal Gregersen, Clayton M. Christensen. 2011. ISBN 9781422134818.  I have all of Christensen’s books and this is a fitting addition to your library.  I agree that the creative/disruptive way to find and approach a problem lies with posing the questions.  Questionstorming as a technique is a great idea. As well they talk about the ten things you have to ask about a customer as they “try to get the job done’.  I appreciate the comment about looking at customer workarounds to get insight into what needs doing.   Easy to read, this one is a great four hour plane ride read.  It will make you think as it is really pragmatic.

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Street Smarts. Adventures on the road and in the markets. Jim Rogers.  2013. ISBN9780307986078. Co-founder (cw George Soros) of the Quantum Fund, Rogers retired at 37. Now living in Singapore, he has made a fortune and a life of shorting stocks, commodities, currencies and what have you.  A very entertaining read he has made pretty well every mistake you could , but he has learned from then all.  He is not  a fan of the US as it stands and although an American holds out little hope for it improving in the future unless it:

• Sends all politicians to live back home away from the lobbyists and among the  electorate. With all the technology, why do they all have to be in Washington? Should do this in Canada too.
• Bring all the troops home. it will save money and reduce enemies.
• Reform the court system to drive down litigation. Losers should pay all court costs
• Drastically improve the education system to teach to higher levels. Most politicians are now really ignorant.
• Do the same to the health care system.
• Drop the income tax system to a consumption tax system. no lawyers, breaks or accountants needed. Encourage/reward savings .
• He would like the Europeans to let the nations default, while the strong ones can afford it.
• Open up the countries to immigration and freedom of travel
• Get rid of all sanctions and allow Americans to invest anywhere and bank anywhere. Get rid of even more bureaucrats

He is quite the character and is trying to see how he can invest in Burma and North Korea since they will need everything.  He likes China, the govt changes every five years. .  Brazil is run by Brazilians so they will screw up. India can not feed its people and is screwed. Russia is run by a dictator, is screwed up plus it will screw you.  You can read this one on four hour flight. It may change your view on most things.

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Savoury Chef Foods – Vancouver BC Catering Company from Savoury Chef Foods. on Vimeo.

Maximum Success With LinkedIn. Dan Sherman. 2013. ISBN 9780071812337. LinkedIn is always evolving and it must be difficult to keep up. One thing I do is monitor Dan Sherman’s writing as he works as hard as anyone to stay on top of lInkedin and help you monetize it. I learned some new ways for amping up the SEO of your profile as well as the TopLinked groups which exist so you can really add to your contact lists.  Well organized and easy to read this is a book for the beginner to the advanced user.

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Cold Hard Truth. On business, money and life. Kevin O’Leary. 2011.ISBN 9780385671767. I am working my way through the books the Canadian Dragons have written.  Kevin’s business  experience comes closer than all the others to my own. Yes he is brusque, some say nasty but he is a real truth teller on Dragon’s Den and Shark Tank.  He also makes the best arguments for investing in stocks/bonds than have a dividend/yield.  It works and I confirm it.  After readingg this book I would have much more time to listen to O’Leary (and Amanda Lang).  All these successful people have a story to tell and lessons you can learn from.  It is always about commitment and keeping going when the opportunity is presented.   Both he and Herjavec state that a business must grow or it dies. O’Leary my be seen as cruel – but he is being  kind to let people know immediately where they stand or their idea is foolish.  He also has very good words for those around him. Worth a read – I could not put it down as it flows well.

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Driven .How to succeed in business and in life. Robert Herjavec. 2010. ISBN 9781554687091. One of the original Dragons on Dragons Den Canada ( also on Shark Tank in the US). A young Croatian comes to Canada, starts with little  and does very well.  This book is less a description of how he built and sold a  series of successful businesses and more an anthology of business advice collected through the years. Very enjoyable , but not concise.  I would advise young business people to read this book.

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