Archive for April, 2010

Insightful!
The cliché-ridden manifesto on "globalism" has become a staple of our time, with seemingly every consultant, economist and professor spewing out a book or two about the worldwide economy. Few of these authors ever rise above the self-evident and oft-stated themes of wonderful opportunity and mortal danger. But in World Class, author Rosabeth Moss Kanter presents - hold on to your seats - an innovative analysis of globalization's economic and social trends. While the book can't entirely escape the trite "change or die" admonitions of the genre, some of her conclusions truly are original: Companies forced to devote their attention to the global stage will gradually lose interest in their traditional local communities, and those communities will be forced to compete with other localities around the world for the privilege of hosting industry. We [...] recommend this book to any executive or student seeking a non-emotional, fact-based look at the implications of globalism for business and society.

Community and Commerce in the New Era
This book sparked my understanding of "community intelligence" and the need for an integrated network of civic leaders, corporate leaders, academic leaders, and social or non-profit leaders all sharing the same "intelligence" on what the threat to the local community is in terms of losing jobs and remaining attractive as an investment. The author boils it down to each community deciding if it is a thinker, a maker, or a trader community, and then setting out to ensure that everything about the community supports that specific kind of business at a "world-class" level.

Good material but too much fluff
There we many examples of world class communities and how they attract and retain business. That was one of the problems I had with the book. There were just too many examples. A good editor could have cut the size of this book in half. The material contrasting the global view (cosmopolitan) against the local view, was thought provoking.

Humorous
OK, so as I started to read through this book I couldn't help but start laughing out loud.

The book is definitely written by an engineer trying to convey soft skills. It reminded me of Data on The Next Generation.

The only practical purpose I see is for an engineer trying to move to the BA role. For those who are not engineers you will probably want to pass on this one.

HandBooks
The Business Analyst Handbook should be repackaged as an analyst's breast pocket brief. Business analysts such as myself think and move fast; we are authors of how to build systems. We generally carry 20 years' experiences beneath our belts upon whatever area we specialize. We have little time to sit and read textbook style handbooks, that only explain what we already know. In our modern times, there is so much distraction tugging at your jacket tail, we do not have the time to do book reviews and lugs heavy reading material about on our next consulting assignments. The authors of "The Business Analyst Handbook," should do in a dance clap and wheel and come again on this product that can be useful or they can hire me to rewrite the book and present it in a more useful and time saving reading format.

good reference material for the B A
This is a great on the job reference book. I find it valuable for ensuring I am up to date with BA terms.

A handy handbook indeed!
Love the book, the tools and best practices have really helped me on the job. I've noticed some of the comments below have referenced that the table of contents is incorrect. Just wanted to mention that my copy doesn't seem to have this issue.

Who checked the table of contents?
I agree with all the good reviews about this book, it is helping me a lot in my practice with focused insight for every step of the BA tasks. I only wish somebody could have checked out the table of contents for accuracy, the page numbers starting @ Chapter 4 are all wrong!, for a handbook this is a dismal defect.

Intriguing, winsome, and insightful
Though they are unplugged, informally educated, and committed to the mores of 1693, the Amish are genius business men--and women, flourishing far beyond the average rate of success in 2010. Erik Wesner's book is full of fascinating stories of how the Amish thrive in commerce through old-fashioned, counterintuitive methods that sometimes fly in the face of our "fancy" modern business methods. My late dad, a small bookstore owner, would have loved this book's advice; he already followed its credos of taking care of your employees, going above and beyond in customer service, and creating honest, well-crafted products that hearken back to the days before everything was made in China and Guam. Any small business owner will be inspired and informed, and anyone interested in the Amish will find tons of tidbits about Plain life from someone who knows this sub culture extremely well. Here is a novel and fresh business book with broad appeal!

Vivid Stories and Quality Business Lessons
Author Erik Wesner, who writes the excellent AmishAmerica blog, spent two years researching Amish businesses in Pennsylvania and Ohio. His new book, "Success Made Simple: An Inside Look at Why Amish Businesses Thrive" is the result.

By weaving together the Amish experience, common business knowledge, and ideas from mainstream business gurus, Wesner derives business lessons for the rest of us. As the title suggests, the Amish remind us that business doesn't have to be a complicated venture.

Here's a general summary of what's in each chapter:

Chapters 1 & 2: You learn about how the Amish use vision and faith to build successful firms. Next, Wesner explores how Amish people become successful with only an eighth-grade education, standard in the culture.

Chapter 3 describes the Amish approach to sales and marketing, which emphasizes relationship-building and customer service.

Chapter 4 dives more deeply into relationships and customer service. You also learn how the Amish tend their reputations and difficult clients.

Chapter 5 & 6 cover Amish approach to team-building, managing, and hiring. Many Amish people have to keep community interests at heart when hiring, firing, and motivating employees.

In Chapter 7, you learn how the Amish stay competitive. This includes how to compete in a friendly, sustainable way with others in your community--not something that's standard in so-called English (American) culture.

Wesner wraps up the book with the Amish definition of business and success, leading readers to ponder what community, success, and their overall goals mean to them.

Thoughts on style:

When I first started reading the book, I couldn't figure out whether Wesner was describing the Amish or imparting general business wisdom. He'd weave Amish tales, business expert quotes, and general business wisdom into the same section. After a little hesitation, however, the style grew on me. I ultimately saw it as unique and quite seamless.

If one thing about the book caught me off-guard, it was Wesner's gentle, respectful treatment of the Amish. Chock it up to bad media conditioning. I suppose I expect business books to dictate something to me, and this one didn't. It didn't assume wrong or right. It was respectful. (Hey, maybe we could use more of this.)

Wesner also has a knack for illustrating how the Amish operate in their day-to-day lives. His stories, anecdotes, quotes, and research made me feel like I knew the Amish. I could tell he spent a lot of time with them.

Thoughts on content:

If you read business books, you've probably already learned some of "Success Made Simple"'s business lessons, which cover general business topics like marketing and human resources. The lessons I found most useful, however, were those I hadn't heard before. These include how the Amish use faith as a catalyst for business motivation and success. Or how Amish treat competition when everyone's in the same community.

I was also fascinated to learn that the Amish don't go to court. That shines a new light on how to sift out and treat difficult customers without threatening them with legal action. These unique lessons, the ones you don't find everywhere else, made the book stand out.

Overall: A good read

"Success Made Simple" is one of those books everyone can benefit from. Its mellow style and interesting anecdotes make it a good commuting or poolside companion. I especially recommend this book for business students, anyone interested in general business lessons, or anyone interested in the Amish.

(book review by Drea Knufken)

Excellent Book for All Small Business Owners
There is a tremendous amount to be learned from Amish business owners, and Erik Wesner hits the target with Success Made Simple.

Here are some of the most powerful small business lessons that remained with me when I finished reading the book.

Your level of formal education doesn't determine your level of success -- Wesner explained in the book how many successful Amish business owners have just an 8th-grade education under their belts. Not to reduce the value of an education, but this really does exemplify how there's a lot more to business success than book smarts. As explained in the book, knowledge and experience can come from a multitude of places, including hands-on learning, having a mentor and/or reliable sounding board, and adopting a can-do-open-to-learning attitude.

There is no substitute for excellent customer service -- As business owners, happy clients/customers are the goal, and the book delves into all of the ways Amish business owners put the customer relationship first. Wesner describes how Amish business owners focus on customer satisfaction including providing a high-quality product/service, inviting word of mouth referrals, and showing appreciation for the best clients.

Storytelling is more than a bedtime ritual -- I love the marketing section of the book where Wesner discusses how many Amish business owners use a compelling narrative to boost their sales and marketing activities. This is an excellent way to engage your audience, and differentiate yourself from the competition ... necessary elements in all marketing campaigns.

Success Made Simple

Erik Wesner spent an intensive period of time in the Amish community even though he is not Amish himself. He started by trying to sell them books which he did with some success.

I always had a bit of childhood fascination with Mennonites who lived nearby as I was growing up. They are similar in many ways to the Amish. They dress in black, drive horse and carriages, don't believe in cars or electricity and generally live life more like the turn of the 1900's than today.

I learned that the Amish are opposed to automation because they place such a high priority on family and they think things like cars would allow people to travel too far away from family.

The Amish success in my opinion is built on their great work ethic. In general I've seen most highly successful businesses, are lead by leadership with great work ethic. And work ethic permeates the culture.

The Amish are highly religious. Because of that they can be quite calm in times of high stress. They turn there problems over to God rather than becoming twisted up inside.

There is an limit on Amish entrepreneurs because the church and the community frowns upon growing too fast and too big. I guess as in any entrepreneurs' situation, entrepreneurs need to be there own people and recognize the peer pressure just is.

In one sense I thought the Amish would have many disadvantages because of their lack of automation, however in business they are not opposed to using equipment and computers. I think being Amish has some advantages though too such as: work ethic, community, and even the Amish name which is quite well respected.

It's an interesting book that gave me some fascinating insights into the Amish people and although it's interesting I don't think I will become one

A Book of Common Sense
"Success Made Simple" is an excellent book of common sense. I'm always surprised by how uncommon common sense often is, how easily we forget these truths. What Erik Wesner has done is to take business principles from the Amish, break them down, and convey to the reader the best way to apply them. Erik has compiled many invaluable lessons into one readable, thoroughly enjoyable book. Well worth your time!