Careers Books

Fun and educational book. Has all the things that a little cowboys wants to know.

I never thought being a cowboy could be so easy. This book shows you step by step how to be a world famous cowboy. I have completly converted. All I listen to now is cowboy music and my belt buckles are twice the size they used to be. I am the hit of the party at all the cowboy bars that I now have VIP cards at. Thank you I want to be a cowboy. You have changed my life for the better!

I never thought being a cowboy could be so easy. This book shows you step by step how to be a world famous cowboy. I have completly converted. All I listen to now is cowboy music and my belt buckles are twice the size they used to be. I am the hit of the party at all the cowboy bars that I now have VIP cards at. Thank you I want to be a cowboy. You have changed my life for the better!

Considering the vast topic this is a fairly good book. I found some of the data to be dated at this point and some what sexist.

Now in its ninth edition, this book has become the standard of the field. It is intended to help those whose job it is to facilitate the career development process. This includes school, employment, career and rehabilitation counselors as well as other individuals who are influential in the career development process.

The ninth edition has improvements in virtually all areas, the most important of which is that it now meets all Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) standards. Another area that has been expanded is the concept of a career that changes from time to time in the workers life. Based on chaos theory, this realizes that the outlook for particular jobs, particular careers change from time to time and in unpredictable ways.

The strengths that this book brings to the subject in the form of the writing style and intellectual depth of the author remain; making this book both educational and entertaining.

As an EA working for the Chairman of my firm, I can relate to most of the situations Ms Badowski cites. I laughed and nodded in full appreciation and recognition that there was someone out there who 'gets it'. We who work 'behind the throne' have a crucial role that is often overlooked, except by the very C-level executive we support. A very useful and entertaining read. Jack Welch groupies will love it too! I highly recommend it.

From the perspective of an executive assistant learning the ropes, this book is a 10! Rosanne shares her secrets of managing paperwork, calendars, phone calls, her executive, confidential information, etc. I have read and re-read this book at least five times and never tire of the content or the stories. The bullet points she leaves us at the end of each chapter make it simple to review the material at a glance. I highly recommend this book to new and seasoned admins alike.

I was disappointed by this book for three reasons. First, the key points Badowski makes about "managing up" are tediously self evident. I already knew this information before reading the book. Second, the author teaches via anecdotes, which is not an effective way to elaborate on key points here. She spends too much time talking about her experiences with Jack Welch, in effect, snuffing out any worthwhile analysis. Finally, the book is laced with logical fallacies, contradictions, and improper advice. For example, instead of being "detail-oriented," the author advises her readers to aspire toward "perfectionism," which is both crippling and problematic. Overall, I felt like I was stuck at a dinner party across from a secretary, name dropping and telling me stories.

This is the reminiscence of a famous CEO's secretary, but it is better than you might expect. Jack Welch's former executive assistant and now author Rosanne Badowski spins anecdotes nicely. She also provides some possibly inadvertent grains of salt to season everything else you may have read about her boss. However, the idea that her warmly chatty observations can generate a respectable book is a tribute to the power of his legend - and her entertaining recollections. The image of a CEO whose secretary has to go through his trash to keep track of what he's been doing is very revealing. So is the idea of a secretary going behind her super-boss like Mommy behind a toddler, turning off faucets he can't be bothered to shut for himself. Welch acknowledges in the forewordthat he was a difficult, sometimes aggravating boss. He says Badowski, "lived and breathed work," and he praises her "loyalty, discretion and forgiveness" and well as her long hours, the care she took with confidential information and her talent for dealing with those who seek it. Badowski pulls few punches, so you may well agree with Welch's self-assessment after you read her book. However, Welch was also, on occasion, a brilliant manager, and Badowski became a strong one, too. We find that her up-close viewpoint includes some useful managerial insights and just enough gossip to keep your batteries charged.

...which explains her success as a partner with Jack Welch.

Ro has hit the nail on the head here. It's not really about keeping his favorite yogurt on tap or catering to his needs, it's about removing the obstacles and the minutiae so that the leadership can lead instead of wasting time on those things that can be done by others. It's more about being a true partner than it is about being a sterotypical assistant.

My take on this book is that although written by an assistant, it is applicable to anyone who has a boss and who wants to be a solution instead of just an employee. Many people take issue with being asked to handle things that they deem are "personal" for thier boss. That conversation is a waste of time and will be a deciding factor on how high you will go in your career. Make no mistake, for leaders of large organizations, there is no distinction between a personal and a work life. They are one. So, Ro really points out that being a solution for Jack sometimes meant that she had to make sure those "personal" things were managed to completion by someone other than Jack. That freed Jack up to take care of business.

Pre-managing your boss is a great way to bring speed to the entire organization. Ro stated early on that she was a creator of time. That is one of the most powerful offers that one can make to their boss and their organization. Time is the most precious asset that many of us claim to not have enough of. By ensuring that Jack didn't have to sweat the small stuff and sift through unneccessary crap, she was able to create the time for Jack to become the leader he is and to bring more prosperity to the organization and the people who support it. Be it personal or business, she handled it.

Observe also, that while many may think of Rosanne Badowski as just an assistant who wrote a book, she obviously has enough insight and leadership skills of her own to be the assistant of one of the most powerful CEO's for 14 years and...she wrote a book about it. I am also quite sure that she has enjoyed some prosperity as a result of her success with Jack.

I'm still reading this book. The first few chapters are a bit dry, but do set the scene for the rest of the book. I had to laugh when the author said blacksmithing is on the rise.. around here any blacksmithing gear is bought up by yuppies who hang the tools on their wall and call it period art... it means the demand is high, but it doesn't mean the yuppies know which end of the hammer to hold, just that it suits the dining room better than the kitchen decor.
The book... once in the real meat of the book (chapter 4 on) there is good instructional material, and more than adequate diagrams (single line and monochrome sketches) to assist the reader in learning the techniques and methods. There is a strong focus on the older techniques, but some mention of the newer technologies being used by modern hobbiests and adherents. There is enough diversity in the content to appeal to bladesmiths, farriers, armourers (SCA), and wrought iron workers, although the focus is definitely on wrought work, and general techniques.

This is a very good book, it's my second favorite to learn from.

This is my favorite:Blacksmithing Primer: A Course in Basic and Intermediate Blacksmithing (Paperback) by Randy McDaniel.

If you are learning by yourself it's a much more complete set of lessons, including exactly how to position teh hammer to get each set of results. No other books teaches this.

The DVD set is excellent too, but expensive.
(Note, I know the guy who publishes the videos, but I didn't know he did until after I'd bought them, watched them, and recommended them to somone else...)

This is not so much a "how to" Book, but it would be great for anyone simply researching the subject.

Alex Bealer's text on the subject of blacksmithing is not only of experience, but also the experience of others. In his book he talks quite a bit about the late Sam Yellin. About smith's that he knows, and about his own smithing experience. It may be long winded to some, or may be pompous. Yet Mr. Bealer is sharing not only knowledge with you. But opening doors to the same past we came from. I have been a hobby smith for 16 years, and this book is one of the finest books on the subject out there. Let the sparks fly, and the anvil ring.

This text is an excellent OVERVIEW of the history, context, and general techniques of blacksmithing. If you are looking for a general understanding of the art, this is the perfect text, and on that basis I recommend it very highly.

I do NOT recommend this text for the serious student of the subject. The discussion is generally shallow and has a tendency toward casual errors. It also presents blacksmithing traditions as fact despite modern dispute (E.g., Edge packing, pp 168-169, is now generally considered nonsense by reputable blacksmiths). If you want to learn about practical blacksmithing techniques, Jack Andrew's "New Edge of the Anvil" is much, much better. If you want to learn to make weapons, Dr. Jim Hrisoulas' several books ("The Complete Bladesmith," "Master Bladesmith," etc.) are much better, but very specialized.

Summary: highly recommended as a general overview. Insufficient depth for specialized study.

A pretty good read. Sometimes the author really puffs himself up and that became rather annoying at times. He could leave those parts out of the book and it would be just as good if not better. If you can see past his huge ego, the style is interesting enough to finish the book in two or three sittings. I would have given it more stars w/o this flaw.

This book serves as a great roadmap to becoming a top IT leader, because it covers the entire spectrum of topics that one should either know or be aware of in his or her quest to become a CIO. Many IT publications may provide articles on some of the topics covered in the book (such as how to manage expectations with your staff), but this book is unique in a number of ways:

1) It is written from first hand knowledge and experience. Every topic, ranging from Methodologies, to IT Governance, to Contract Negotiation includes a "What Did I Do to Prepare?" section, where Gregory candidly recounts examples of things he did in those categories.
2) Every section of the book provides recommendations and advice for aspiring CIOs.
3) Some topics (such as learning golf for business purposes) may not have been obvious for aspiring CIOs. Topics such as learning golf for business is rarely, if ever, in trade magazines.
4) All of the information in the book is well referenced, and there are very interesting statistics gathered from impressive sources.

I actually just finished taking a Graduate level course taught by Gregory himself using this book. I can say that Gregory is a very knowledgeable, experienced, candid, and friendly guy, and the information in the book and the tone of this book demonstrates that.

With his advice and the tips from this book, I have already made a few improvements to my personal IT career path. I feel that most people's IT careers can benefit, too, with the advice from a solid mentor and tips from this book. I highly recommend this book!

I'm not too sure about current CIOs, but this book proves to be very informative and concise for a junior IT executive like me aiming for the top IT post. Unlike some IT books which focus on stories and leaving you to ponder how you can relate to them, this gem of a book addresses key issues and tells you straight to the point what CIOs of established companies feel and how they react to these issues. In addition, Smith has given his own input and experience in the form of easy-to-follow guidelines which anyone can put to use immediately.

I'm glad I did not miss this book.

When I was offered the job of CIO, I only had 1 week to prepare for the interview. I purchased this book immediately based on the exerpts that I read on line. What an amazing and helpful book. Mr. Smith's pointers and recommendations helped me tremendously! It assisted in preparing me for the interview and even though I am now working as a CIO I still review it. I liked his points on the IT Governance Structure document - somthing that I plan to put in place here, I also read with interest his tips on the first 100 days in the job. I also like the statistical data that were included in each chapter. What was also particularly helpful were his personal experience. I like how the book gives direction to aspiring CIOs and new CIOs. I highly recommend this book.

The information contained in this book are not exactly revolutionary. You want to be a CIO? Get an MBA from top notch school, be technically proficient, get project management experience, work on large scale projects, get experience with large scale budgets, and work on your soft (communication and interpsonal) skills.

What sets this book apart from other books with similar title is the source of its information. They are from CIOs and recruiters who have experience placing CIOs.

Too often, many books on becoming a CIO are based on guesses and speculations of the authors who do not have full comprehension of the topic. The author of this book purposely do not use his own conclusions, he merely gathers information and analyze them in an objective fashion.

If you want to read a book on becoming a CIO based on a solid research and survey of relevant professionals, then this book will provide credible, albeit common sense, suggestions.

I agree with the previous comments on Corinne's book. I found it throughly useful and practical, as well as her course. Both are a must for aspiring translators. The emphasis is on "practical", with essential information to make your career as a freelance translator successful..as the book says! enjoy and follow Corinne's advice!

Very interesting book, easy to read, refreshing and helpful. The author gives some web pages rather useful. She pictures the translator work in a quite optimistic way, somehow. But she also provides the necessary piece of advice to face the translation career. It is worth buying and reading, anyway.

This book has a lot of easy to read information. It has tips on how to organize a home office, how to manage time and lots of examples of correspondence between a beginning freelancer and potential clients. Useful and pertinent.

This book is really good. If you want to start working and don't want to read endless theories about translating buy it.

The author obviously knows a lot about the subject, and does a good job of covering all the important aspects of the business. However, the book is a bit short, sacrificing depth for breadth. It's a good resource, though.

Riane Eisler knows a lot about struggle and growth. She's been a Jewish girl in Nazi Europe, an early advocate for women's equality in America, a world-renowned visionary scholar, and not least, a grandmother. Drawing on her experience, plus that of hundreds of other great souls, she presents the spiritual journey as a process of building and deepening relationships. It's a process of reaching over the boundaries between ourselves and others, and turning fear into partnership at each level of our lives. Eisler describes this journey like an elder telling real stories. First we grow to accept and love ourselves, and then to relate as a full partners in ever widening circles of creation -- to our families, communities, nations, to humanity, the planet, and the ultimate spirit underlying it all.

In comparison with other maps of the human adventure, Eisler's goes far beyond the goal of psychological normalcy. And in describing the higher range of human potential she never imposes sectarian ideas or engages in mystical visions. You cannot tell what religious background she comes from, save that for her the quality of relationships is central. This book does more honor to the social dimension of spirituality than any other I've read. Giving it to a friend would be great.

This book provides a practical guide for people who are concerned about the direction of our future. It can help anyone interested in making personal and social changes that will model for and teach the children of tomorrrow how to relate in partnership with each other and our planet. I recommend this book to anyone that would like guidance and help in creating a culture of peace.

This book chews on a big chunk of food for thought. But be forewarned. There are political generalities in The Power of Partnership that will please Progressives and turn off Conservatives. However, regardless of your leanings, read it anyway. Many of the greatest business minds use the power-of-partnership concept to maximize profits. Can we even count the number of effective partnerships that a wildly successful company like Microsoft has going for it? It's certainly hard to count all of Bill Gates' money. Understanding partnerships is definitely good for business. It's also good for much much more. Eisler insightfully guides us through seven key relationship areas that highlight the great value of building strong partnerships. This book may very well frustrate you, but it also might change the way you think about almost everything.

Riane Eisler has written another book with the potential to transform culture and our perceptions of what is and what can be. Highly recommended!

Although I applaud seemingly non-Christians for looking to the bible for truth. Many do not understand it. Here is a paragraph extracted from the "Spirituality" chapter, with a response from my Christian men's group - you can respond to me at mickeymike30@fmtc.net.

QUOTE from Book.
A. How can we make sense of the biblical commandment 'Thou shalt not kill,' when passage after passage contradicts this commandment? In Numbers 31 and Deuteronomy 20, we are led to believe that God approves of massacres of whole populations. In Leviticus 20:9, we are told that children who curse their parents must be killed. B. How do we take biblical passages approving of slavery (Leviticus 25:44-46) and even of a man selling his daughter into slavery (Exodus 21:7)? C. What should we make of Jesus' teaching that we should love one another and live in peace, when in Revelations 12:19 angels pour out 'the wrath of God upon the earth,' and terrible horrors are unleashed on everybody - except the chosen 'hundred and forty and four thousand,' who, according to chapter 14:3, 'were redeemed from the earth'?

Response:
A. This centers on the subject of murder, not killing. Murder is an act of violence from one person against another with the motivation for the act erupting from emotion or sinful impulse. That is quite different from 1) wars of defense, 2) capital punishment, and 3) divine pronouncements of "war on God's enemies". The latter three derive from national survival or from an indisputable source outside the personal motivating factors. If someone attacked your wife, and the only way to save her was a counterblow that would kill the offender, then this is not from those motivating factors. Is killing but not murder.

B. Slavery in those times and social conditions (in the sense of the biblical reference) was really more like long term employment to pay a large debt. We call it "indentured servitude". If one has a home mortgage today, it is really no different. Truly...ask anybody who has a big mortgage and a required big job to pay it.

C. Jesus was not a kindly suntanned carpenter who loved kids and told us all that if we just get along all will be well. He said "I come NOT to bring peace on earth, but a sword". God's message is very tough to those who think along the lines of this question. Its just the way that it is.

God is the sovereign creator and king of the universe. We owe every breath we take to Him. His ways are higher than our ways, and He is not subject to the laws impressed upon mankind because He is the author of right and wrong. "The wages of sin is death". God says what He means and means what He says. His absolute righteousness demands punishment for sin, yet in His righteousness He has made a way of salvation for those of us that truly understand his intent: "...its your kindness that leads us to repentence". He is a savage lover.

Since my knowledge of this subject is limited, it was nice to have a product that helped me while also being quite entertaining.

"Toxic Coworkers" was an easy read, and it delivers what the cover promises: "How to Deal with Dysfunctional People." Covering all the major players- all 10 of the personality disorders described by the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), it is an excellent resource for identifying exactly what type of problematic personality you might be dealing with, allowing the reader to then focus their search for additional literature pertaining to the specific personality disorder at hand.

Not only do the authors provide realistic and DO-ABLE solutions and strategies, their advice is organized by both which disorder you are dealing with, as well as the reader's relationship with the personality-disordered individual. (i.e. Boss/Administrator, Coworker, or Subordinate.) Additionally the book can be used as a guide for dealing with other toxic personalities in your life- a "parent" can substitute for the boss, a sibling or neighbor for "coworker", or a child for the "subordinate."

If you already know which disorder you are up against, you can jump to the appropriate chapter and start learning right away. I was able to start implementing solutions for dealing with a personality-disordered relative the same day!

This publisher needs to fire the editors of this book, as there were many small typos and grammatical errors, but don't judge the book on this alone. I am an educated adult with a background in scientific research, and found the authors to back up their ideas with solid information and strategies... that are already proving successful for me.

As a side-note, if you are seeking information about sociopaths (Antisocial Personality Disorder), I highly recommend this book along with The Sociopath Next Door by Martha Stout. If you are seeking help in dealing with a Narcissistic personality, I again highly recommend both this book, along with Joan Lackhar's How to Talk to a Narcissist. Both Stout and Lackhar offer understandable insight and sound advice backed by strong research and building on both accepted literature from experts who have come before them the past 50 years, as well as more recently discovered data.

This book has really helped by putting a title to the different people I work with and for and where my frustration comes from. Also it has assisted me in dealing with the different disfunctions of personalities of the people with whom I spend most of my days with. I would recommend this book.

The book description gives a good, succinct overview of what's in the book so I am going to focus my review on how well the authors presented the material.

The book is structured very well. The first two chapters give you the motivation for the book and an overview of the material to come respectively. Both of these set the stage well for the chapters to come. Chapters three through 12 are each dedicated to a different personality disorder, and they follow the same basic formula:

* Illustration/anecdote giving an example of how a person with the particular disorder may behave
* The official symptoms of the disorders
* Suggestions for how to relate to a manager, co-worker, or subordinate who has the disorder

The final chapter discusses anxiety, depression, addiction, and ADHD at a high level; however, each of these are worthy of separate dedicated book.

I have no psychological training so not all of the material sunk in after the first reading. Some of the information is also a bit scary. However, I also feel much better equipped to handle toxic people in the workplace too. While it would be useful to anyone in the workforce, I would recommend it the most to those in management positions.

As a physician, I have many patients come to me with physical or emotional symptoms of anxiety. If I discover that these symptoms are connected not throughout their experience but with just one person, say a boss, loved one or co-worker, I often recommend this book. This book brings personality disorders to the lay person. It is very readable and give specific techniques that with make things work smoothly with this person and examples of what will make things more difficult. This is a great read for anyone. I think we will all recognize people in our lives in each of the personality disorders. You will recognize your difficult person in one or more of the personality disorders. This book make you feel instantly sane because you can see that it's not you, that the difficult person can be acurately described by someone who doesn't even know you. An excellent book!

This is an interesting little book. It identifies some basic personality disorders and then speculates on how one might deal with such folks to limit the damage that they might do.

What is a personality disorder? The authors note that (page 4) "Personality disorders are long-standing disturbances in personality that usually begin in late adolescence and continue until adulthood." If the case is not too bad, such workers can be productive; if the disorder is pronounced, then real problems can occur in the workplace.

The disorders include the following: paranoid, schizoid, schizotypal, antisocial, narcissistic, histrionic, borderline, obsessive compulsive, avoidant, dependent, and passive aggressive.

For each, the disorder is described and examples provided. There is also discussion of how one might deal with either superiors or coworkers or subordinates who have one or another of the disorders. Some suggestions appear useful, others seem a little weak.

All in all, an interesting volume to read. See if you can identify any disorders in your workplace!