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Books & Resources - Business Management
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The One Minute ManagerThis classic, which can be read in 40 minutes, is a "must-read" for anybody managing a business or department. No other book simplifies the process of managing people - read it at least once a year.
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Understanding Business Accounting for DummiesAmazingly, the "Dummies" series of books sells very well. The reason for this is that despite their not-so-vaguely insulting title, their content is excellent and clearly set out.
This book is invaluable for those wanting to understand the principles behind the ubiquitous numbers.
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Key Management Ratios (Financial Times Series)The purpose of financial information is not to satisfy accountants but to help you understand where you stand and to help you make decisions about how to improve your business. This book shows you how to make sense of the many figures in your accounts.
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How to Write a Business PlanA business plan can either help you or it can be a useless document collecting dust on a shelf. This book will make your plan the productive type with clear guidance on why you need the plan, who it is for and how it should be produced.
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The Small Business Start-up Workbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Starting the Business You've Dreamed ofIf you are going to take advice on starting a business, it is best to listen to somebody who has done it and succeeded. This book is definitely one you need to sit down and read with a pencil in hand. It is a true workbook.
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Start Your Business: Week by WeekThis book is brilliant in its simple concept, which is that most small businesses are conceived while the founder is busy doing their day job. This book shows you how to lay the foundations for the fledgling business.
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Managing TransitionsThe author argues that "it is not the change that kills you, but the transition". This book reveals the true barriers to change and removes them one by one. If you read only one book on change, this should be it.
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Who Moved My Cheese? : An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and Your LifeThis book, by the man who wrote "The One Minute Manager" takes a light-hearted look at the reactions to change and thus packs a powerful punch.
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Leading ChangeChange management is often referred to, but the author points out that change also needs leadership.
This book from the renowned Harvard Series sets out the Eight Stage Process for managing change successfully.
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Where are the Customers' Yachts?This book is a masterpiece of insight into the financial institutions. Fred Schweb worked in the financial markets in the USA in the wake of the Wall Street crash. Always something of an outsider, he wrote this book in 1955.
It gives extraordinary insight into the thinking behind the advice given to investors and why they should be wary of the “experts”. The examples he gives are as relevant in the 21st Century as they were midway through the 20th. If only people had been reading this book in the run up to the market crash of 2008!
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The Black SwanNassam Nicholas Taleb achieved notoriety when he published a book one week before 9/11, speculating about the chances of a plane crashing into his office building. In the Black Swan, he explains that the events which really change the world are not based on planning or predictability, but are completely random.
He covers a wide spectrum of human endeavour, but there is no place more relevant to his advice than the financial institutions. By the time he has made his reasoned case, it would be a brave investor that took the advice of “experts” without asking serious questions. He argues that it is safer to assume random, significant events than to pretend that everything can be predicted using pseudo scientific techniques and jargon. Described by “The Economist” as a “deeply intelligent, provactive book”
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Business Stripped Bare: Adventures of a Global EntrepreneurSir Richard Branson is famous all around the world for a wide range of successful businesses and seemingly having fun. He pulls off the difficult task of making it look easy.
In "Business Stripped Bare" he reveals the sound principles and ethics which are at the heart of his success. This book is insightful, easy to read and immensely enjoyable.
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Business Strategy - A guide to taking your business forward“Business Strategy – A guide to taking your business forward” is from the brilliant series published by The Economist. The author, Jeremy Kourdi, takes great pains to explain what strategy is in a short but succinct opening chapter in which he brings the subject to life by quoting some real examples from successful companies. He then explains how to develop a strategy and change your thinking forever, before working through the steps involved in implementing a strategy.
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Harvard Business Essentials: StrategyHarvard Business School is rightly regarded as the best in the world. In this well written book, Richard Luecke steers us brilliantly through the path of business jargon to bring clarity to the subject of strategy. It starts with what you can achieve (strengths and weaknesses) as external influences (opportunities and threats) before moving on to describe the types of strategy, how you can work through from strategy to implementation. Best of all, he takes account of the fact that strategy also involves excellent communication with people so that it is practical and motivational rather than an abstract concept.
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Marketing for Dummies“Marketing for Dummies” achieves what the series sets out to do – “make everything easier”. It is written by 4 people, each bringing a wealth of experience of different forms of marketing. It covers all aspects of marketing from strategy through to the implementation of every conceivable part of the “marketing mix”. It successfully covers creativity and the practical including brochures, advertising, e-marketing, networking, branding, face-to-face marketing and even TV and Radio.