Review of Protecting and Rebuilding Your Retirement: Everything You Need to Do to Secure Your Financial Future (Hardcover)

This book is simply written, easy-to-understand, and provides practical advice for everyone. The author recommends a realistic approach to investing that includes buying a diversified portfolio of index mutual funds. Other topics covered are investing in annuities ? fixed and variable, IRAs, and 401(k)s, and insurance (life, health, and disability).

Abromovitz, an attorney and financial educator, provides readers with a well-written explanation of the key components of developing, protecting, and rebuilding decimated retirement accounts. He recommends a pro-active hands-on retirement planning approach.In this 224-page, nineteen chapter book, Abromovitz covers how to make relatively safe investments that will continue to grow, how to plan for health issues and large medical bills, how to maximize your social security benefits, and how your financial safety can be improved by investing in stocks, real estate, annuities and 401(k)s.

There is no earth-shattering advice in this book.However, the author provides straightforward advice that can help individuals get and stay focused on the right track so that they can accomplish their retirement dreams.

Most individuals have not really thought about all aspects of the retirement process and have let the chips fall where they may.The devastating bear market of 2000-2002, unfortunately changed the retirement landscape for millions of individuals whose retirements have been postponed and many potential retirees have been forced to keep working to make ends meet. The reason for this was that most individuals did not understand or consider the risks of investing in the stock market.

By reading, studying, and implementing the wisdom in this book, readers will put the odds in their favor to obtain a secure and peaceful retirement.This book should be required reading by all individuals, whether or not they are approaching retirement since the advice provided will help all readers better manage their financial issues.



Click Here to see more reviews about: Protecting and Rebuilding Your Retirement: Everything You Need to Do to Secure Your Financial Future (Hardcover)

Review of Goldilocks on Management: 27 Revisionist Fairy Tales for Serious Managers (Hardcover)

When I read the reviews for this book, I wonder if we are all talking about the same book.All the praise sounds like paid endorsements from friends of the authors.

Getting the idea that I didn't like this book?Not at all.Actually I loved it.It was fun to read& quick.

But, that's all it was -- animated & entertaining.

Goldilocks is purely ephemeral with management insights added inorder to convince you that what you're reading has substance.Theso-called 'business principles' are nothing more than short, shallowblurbs.

Here's how the book is arranged.There are 27 different fairytales.There are two I'm not familiar with.Ever hear of the "BremenTown Musicians?"Or "The Old Woman & Her Pig?"

Eachtales is modernized and reflects a business theme.For example, The ThreeBears operate a budget motel deep in the forest and Chicken Little readsthe Wall Street Journal because she follows the prices on corncommodities.

The story follows with details concerning a business issuesuch as:

=> marketing => team building => sales => cash flow=> hiring employees => customer service

A shaded box follows called* Basic Lesson *.Sometimes there's more:

=> how the tale applies toserious managers => a real-life story => a conclusion, called the'bottom line'

What I found is that most of the time the 'lesson' wasn'twhat I thought it was.It might be me, but I think the tale's outcomesaren't clear.

Let's talk 'Sleeping Beauty'.You all know the basicstory.In the Mayer's version Beauty's parents are wealthy beyondimagination.Think Bill Gates.She has everything she could want --wealth, beauty, intelligence.

The curse put on her by the uninvited guestis:"Nothing worldly will ever satisfy you.All this wealth is goingto bore you, enervate you, exhaust you.It will all seem so tawdry andmeaningless that you won't be able to stay awake." (p.67)

TheMayer's lesson is that you shouldn't leave people out of your planningprocess because it results in poor outcomes.(read Wicked Witch)

My take,from the way the tale is written, is this: when you give someone all theyneed in worldly goods, when they have everything, then you remove allmotivation to excel at anything.They have nothing to strive for.

Or howabout the 'Ugly Duckling'?In this version the lesson is to nurture andtolerate your staff's innate skills & differences.

Yet the storymakes it clear that the swan (ugly duckling) was forced to leave the ducksbecause he didn't fit in with the corporate culture.The way he looksdoesn't adhere to the duck dress code & he trumpets when he shouldquack.

In most of these tales the conclusions don't support the storyexamples.

Who's right?I don't know.Maybe it doesn't matter.

Whatdoes matter is the authors came up with a neat gimmick then made the talesfit their pre-conceived business lesson.At least that's myconclusion.

If you come across this book when you're browsing thebookstore & you have time, read some of it.If you see it at thelibrary, check it out.Buy it only if you have extra money around &are looking for some business fluff to break up the day's work.



Click Here to see more reviews about: Goldilocks on Management: 27 Revisionist Fairy Tales for Serious Managers (Hardcover)

Review of The Age Curve: How to Profit from the Coming Demographic Storm (Hardcover)

No, really, it is.

When I come across a book, speaker, slideshow or tv show that takes a complicated or mundane topic and explains it as clearly as Ken Gronbach has explained the essence of demographic transitions in "The Age Curve," I applaud the author. When the writing is not only clear and concise but also entertaining, I stand up and cheer.

Gronbach uses stories from his years of experience in the advertising and marketing business to explain what is important about basic data like how many babies were born in which years during the last century or so in the USA. Instead of being an actuary's idea of a boring meeting (no offense to actuaries!) it is a lively and humorous read, with lots of slap-your-forhead, "well, DUH!" moments. With real-life applications like blue-jean and motorcycle sales, stories about leftovers at the dinner table, and discussion of current events like immigration and China,Gronbach makes what some consider a dry topic into something you'll talk about at cocktail parties, with your spouse as you plan your future together, and, perhaps most importantly, at the conference table with your business associates.

After reading this book, you will start to see every issue that attracts or confounds you differently. You will analyze every business challenge, measure every political argument, and make every investment decision from a new perspective. And whenever you run into some executive making a lame excuse about not being able to predict the future and how it might affect stockholders, you will want to slap them with a copy of this book.

This book is a 250-page "a-ha moment." I recommend it to everyone who thinks or cares about the future of our culture, and who wonders why big businesses sometime run aground on issues that seem later to have been completely predictable.

Want bonus points? Hire Gronbach to speak to your business or trade group -- he's a great presenter with a show that will keep you awake -- even after a big lunch!



Click Here to see more reviews about: The Age Curve: How to Profit from the Coming Demographic Storm (Hardcover)

Review of The Procrastinator's Guide to Financial Security: How Anyone Over 40 Can Still Build a Strong Portfolio--and Retire Comfortably (Hardcover)

The author makes a very good point in this book--that most of us are not taught in school this basic life skill of budgeting and investing our money.He makes another good point that the quality of each person's life in retirement will depend to a great extent to how well he/she has planned and invested, because no longer do most of us work for paternal companies that take care of us.Even the federal government's retirement plans are not what they once were.We're expected to make more and more choices for ourselves, and most of us are oblivious about what we'll have in retirement.We also don't want to think about long-term care, but we can see how important it is as we look around and see our parents needing care and are suddenly surprised to see that Medicare/Medicaid doesn't go far.I, for one, never was exposed to any of the basics, and I admit have no head for it.My eyes glaze over at the mention of dollars and cents.But this book is so easy to follow and so logical that I feel like the author is personally holding me by the hand and starting me out with Step One.There are background chapters about, for example, how Social Security got started; how it used to work; how it works now; and what we can and can't expect it to do for us in retirement.There is an excellent index that enables the reader to search for specific topics.There are easy-to-follow headings on things like What Drives Up the Market, Paying for Long-Term Care, and Buying Mutual Funds At Banks.The author even includes website information, which makes the book all the more useful.In short, this is a basic handbook--not just for baby boomers, but for younger people starting out.I've given two copies to recent college graduates entering the workforce because I don't want them to be as oblivious as I was for so many years.I want to thank the author for opening my eyes before it was too late!



Click Here to see more reviews about: The Procrastinator's Guide to Financial Security: How Anyone Over 40 Can Still Build a Strong Portfolio--and Retire Comfortably (Hardcover)

Review of Pushing the Digital Frontier: Insights into the Changing Landscape of E-Business (Hardcover)

The Wild West days of the dot-com craze are behind us, but e-business strategy remains a largely uncharted frontier. In fact, e-commerce seems more bewildering than ever, now that many of the strategic maxims that the Internet bubble was built on have been proved false. To help you get a handle on the revolutionary technology that has survived the collapse, Nirmal Pal and Judith M. Ray have collected articles by researchers and executives, including many from their home base, the e-Business Research Center at Pennsylvania State University. This anthology constitutes a solid and well-researched book, which has sufficient gravitas (and jargon) for an academic and enough practical information for an entrepreneur. The multiple authors sometimes overlap as they dissect various e-business approaches, but all offer worthwhile ideas. We [...] recommend this book to executives at any company, since Internet technology is now ubiquitous, and distinctions between old economy and New Economy are fast falling by the wayside.




Click Here to see more reviews about: Pushing the Digital Frontier: Insights into the Changing Landscape of E-Business (Hardcover)

Review of Secrets of the Executive Search Experts (Hardcover)

First, to be fair, this book is from 1999.So the fact that recruiting sites like monster.com aren't even mentioned can be blamed on the cruelties of time.

But the rest of this books (many) limitations are harder to forgive.The entire back half of the book consists of descriptions of a number of foreign markets that are on the level of a 5th grade research project: lots of data, most of which is irrelevant, and a few tiny cultural references.

The front half of the book is very pedestrian- I didn't see anything that isn't in any basic 'how-to' of recruiting, much less any "Secrets" of the "Experts".Since the people credited as the authors are from big-name companies I would guess that they had their underlings cobble together some bits & pieces from corporate publications, industry journals, etc. into a book.

Save your money.



Click Here to see more reviews about: Secrets of the Executive Search Experts (Hardcover)

Review of Fundamentals of Enterprise Risk Management: How Top Companies Assess Risk, Manage Exposure, and Seize Opportunity (Hardcover)

This book is a systematic description of contemporary Enterprise Risk Management with new methodology. It is so visual and practical showing readers the qualities that managers all over the world need to get a clear idea of ERM and its benefits. Many real cases are included, even from Russia. But the most interesting part is "ERM Technology," a new approach to diagnose and visually present the family of core risks of any business. Supported by the ERM implementing instructions, this methodology makes the book a really practical guide for anyone interested in corporate risks. More than that, ERM realities are analyzed in the clear context of the modern challenges of making decent profits in an honest and ethical framework. Written in a clear language and supported by many illustrations (pictures and stories), I am sure that the book of Professor J. Hampton will be highly valuable to risk managers, general managers, and students of business globally.

Valery N. Vyatkin,
2003-2005 First Vice President
Russian Risk Management Society (RusRisk)



Click Here to see more reviews about: Fundamentals of Enterprise Risk Management: How Top Companies Assess Risk, Manage Exposure, and Seize Opportunity (Hardcover)

Review of Investing in a Sustainable World: Why GREEN Is the New Color of Money on Wall Street (Hardcover)

I thoroughly enjoyed Investing in a Sustainable World.Right from the Acknowledgements, I knew I was in for a treat.The book does a great job making the argument for sustainable investing, juxtaposing it to SRI, demonstrating its overarching merits, deconstructing the standard objections, and demolishing the long-held theories that support these objections.It makes extensive use of case studies and examples, many of which are new even to experienced readers in this space.Chapter 3 is especially informative in that examines the disjunctive approach to sustainability manifest by such premier investment organization as The World Bank, the Yale endowment, and the State of Connecticut.No reason to pull any punches when the evidence is clear. If this book does not move investors to act then I fear we will be wallowing in the mediocrity of myopic investment strategies and returns for much longer than 10 years.



Click Here to see more reviews about: Investing in a Sustainable World: Why GREEN Is the New Color of Money on Wall Street (Hardcover)

Review of Future Savvy: Identifying Trends to Make Better Decisions, Manage Uncertainty, and Profit from Change (Hardcover)

You will not find a better book than Future Savvy on how to cultivate a forecasting mindset. I teach futuring workshops for mid-career professionals. I have just adopted Future Savvy as a textbook for my graduate students. Why? Future Savvy is accessible. It contains a wealth of managerial wisdom about bias traps, perceptive frameworks, change drivers and change blockers. You may know your industry, but Future Savvy will help you think beyond the limits of trend extrapolation to analyze your changing macro context. It will teach you how to define a cone of uncertainty for your division or product line, and weigh the likelihood of alternatives disrupting your business. Finally, you will take away questions to ask any business or government forecast, to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Yes, you could find a more technical book on forecasting methods. You could get a more detailed book on short-term operational business forecasting. You could even buy a more entertaining book on erroneous predictions. But you will not find a better book to under gird both sense making and decision making in an organizational context. Unlike a lot of futurist fluff out there, this book delivers on its promise.



Click Here to see more reviews about: Future Savvy: Identifying Trends to Make Better Decisions, Manage Uncertainty, and Profit from Change (Hardcover)

Review of The Million-Dollar Financial Services Practice: A Proven System for Becoming a Top Producer (Hardcover)

As a new financial planner working on an independent platform, I was seeking help to develop a marketing plan to get my business ramped up as quickly as possible.This book exceeded my expectations.Dave shares what your goals should be depending on what stage in the business you are, then proceeds to explain how to go about achieving them.I appreciate that he spends little time covering motivation, other than to recognize that to work as hard as one needs to build a million dollar practice, you've got to have your own deep motivation to do the marketing required.The most value is in the "how to" go to market which sets this book apart for most others.

My only regret is that the book was not published prior to my start date.If you are new to the financial services business or looking to make a career change, this is a must read book.If you are a seasoned pro, but not a million dollar producer and want to break through to the next level, this book will be of great assistance.



Click Here to see more reviews about: The Million-Dollar Financial Services Practice: A Proven System for Becoming a Top Producer (Hardcover)