change Books

I first used this book two years ago, after checking it out from the local library. Right away I knew I'd found a great resource. It was definitely inspiring to finally know (not just guess) what colors "work" for me and it opened up several new color options I had not considered before. Great book!

Great book...all kinds of useful info. I use it a lot for finding colors that complement me.

After I read this book in a Barnes and Noble I was so intrigued I had to buy it to keep since I kept going back to check its information. I love the photographs of celebrities that match your skin, hair and eye color and the huge spread of colors that will make you look great.

Right away I started getting complements from everyone at work and at home once I got the hang of which colors worked and which didn't. This is not the fuddy duddy old lady version advocated by Bridget Jones' mother; its a specific list of colors to use plus combinations that are particularly striking to your eyes, skin and hair.

One of my favorite experiences with this system was with a teenage student of mine. At fifteen, over two hundred pounds, she was hiding behind outfit after outfit of head-to-toe brown. I mentioned to her that she might try wearing brighter colors and showed her her pages in the book. When she made the shift to brilliant pinks, fuschias and bright blues, I started hearing kid after kid complementing her on how pretty she looked.

You'll love this book and it will make shopping a whole different experience when you can eliminate 1/2 of what is in the store by color alone and know what will look good on you.

This book has taught me how to totally "work" my natural coloring.

I never read Color Me Beautiful aside from a quick flip-through at the library years ago-- I think I was kind of put off because I fell into the "Winter" category but so did a LOT of colorings that were radically different than mine, and trying to weed out which of the winter recommendations applied to me was difficult. This book makes it much more obvious which specific coloring you are.

What I _really_ love about this book is that it not only tells you which colors are best for you, but also gives you LOTS of suggestions on combining your colors that I had never thought of before. I skeptically tried out some of the color combinations in department stores and was truly surprised by how good they looked. This book had me trying on colors I had previously passed over with great results.

I even changed out my lipstick shades and blush from warm to cool shades and it made my eye color pop and I look a lot more vibrant.

The dressing-for-your-body type was also helpful for me as well as dressing for your style (there were more great color combination recommendations there, too).

I cleaned out my closet of clothes that were in colors that don't suit me and had no regrets.

I recommend that you get this book, take note of the suggestions and put aside your personal opinions "oh that won't work on me." Get yourself to a department store and try things on in the colors and combinations they recommend. You'll be surprised!

5 stars!

This is a variation on the color system that assigns people to the four seasons. It is an interesting addition to that idea, I was only disappointed that they spent as little time as they did on the color information. A good part of the book is dedicated to body shape and styling tips. By the way, David Kibbe's theories in his book Metamorphosis are the best ideas ever re dressing to suit one's shape, the very best, and yet he seems to get very little attention. People interested in this book might want to check out his, as well. It is out of print, but available used and therefore inexpensive. "Color Me Beautiful," by Carole Jackson is about the original color system--seasonal--and is still a good read.

This book answered a lot of my questions as a new interim pastor for a church that is experiencing more than one kind of transition. This is a new way of being a pastor for a church. More should read this.

"A Change of Pastors," by Loren B. Mead is brief but to the point in its 93 pages of information. Loren Mead is one of the foremost experts in the subject of church transitions and understanding the "life" of the church as it relates to Ministry Personnel, management and congregations.
This very readable little volume is an excellent resource for all levels of the church and I would recommend it, especially to those lay people (Board, Council etc) who will become involved in the process of re-visioning the future of the church. It could be the subject of a book study prior to engaging in the process on Needs Assessement/Call.
It speaks to understanding the congregational "HISTORY;" discovering "IDENTITY;" empowering "LEADERSHIP;" and the "DEVELOPMENTAL TASKS" that link the process in a coherent manner. If Lewins Theory is correct "When the pastor moves the system is unfrozen. Change is possible," then this book is for you as an initial resource leading to other volumes (also available from the Alban Institute) that cover transitions in much more depth. Enjoy.
Pastor Ian.

This book addresses all of the issues that occur when a pastor leaves a church. It deals with the many emotions that exist and the conflicts that can arise.I found it very readable, to the point, and a good resource for a church changing pastors. My husband, who is the president of the church council thought it so helpful that he ordered it for the entire council! I strongly recommend it for any congregation that is going through the process of changing pastors.

Tarrow examines social movements and contentious politics in an in-depth way, providing a framework for understanding cycles of contention and other issues associated with social movements. This book is valuable in that the reader can use Tarrow's arguments to understand the dynamics of current movements. As the previous reviewer noted, Tarrow does leave out some important aspects of social movements, such as emotion, which detracts from his argument.

What I disliked about this book was the writing style of the author. It seemed that he was trying to express even the most simple concepts with verbose, pedantic language that made his arguments difficult to understand and distracted the reader from the points he was trying to make. For example, he defines a cycle of contention like this: "a phase of heightened conflict across the social system: with a rapid diffusion of collective action from more mobilized to less mobilized sectors; a rapid pace of innovation in the forms of contention; the creation of new or transformed collective action frames; a combination of organized and unorganized participate; and sequences of intensified information flow and interaction between challengers and authorities. Such widespread contention produces externalities that give challengers at least a temporary advantage and allows them to overcome the weaknesses in their resource base. It demands that states devise broad strategies of response that are either repressive or facilitative, or a combination of the two." (Page 142.)

The only reason I can fathom that anyone would feel the need to write in such an absurdly inflated style would be if the author's argument and thesis weren't strong to begin with, and the author's intention was to confuse the reader. I think the author could have gotten his point across in a much clearer and concise way. I would advise anyone who is thinking about reading it to peruse the sample pages for more examples of the author's style- then decide if you can stomach this book.

Overall, good information, but the writing style is ridiculous.

Aside from some introductory matter on the various schools of thought in social movement research, here Tarrow mostly focuses on the influence of political structures on the formation of popular movements. This includes both external political and social influences, plus developments in the interactions between movements and the states/regimes they are confronting. Tarrow mostly uses movements that have had strong political effects in various nations (mostly Europe) as examples for his theories, and utilizes the concept of "cycles of contention" to elaborate on the evolution of movements over time. This specialized focus does lead to some interesting results, such as Tarrow's reconstruction of the disparate revolutions in Europe in 1848 as a widespread movement, or coverage of how states can co-opt a movement's message as a means of control. He has a nearly Marxist conception of such trends, but mostly avoids the tiresome pontificating that is usually fostered by Marxist theorizing. Another bonus is the final chapter of the main text, dealing with new phenomena in globalized or transnational social movements. The book does lose steam frequently as Tarrow gets distracted with long histories of the movements he uses as examples (including way too much repetitive information on the 1848 phenomenon), while his generally strong writing does occasionally lapse into diffuse professor-speak, which sadly is unavoidable in this field. But in the long run, this book offers mostly powerful coverage of politicized social movements, and the study thereof. [~doomsdayer520~]

I had to read an earlier edition of that book for a course on social movements. It was one of my first contacts with social movements literature. Since then, I plug almost everything I read on social movement to the theoretical framework described in this book. I guess the main quality of this book is that the author recognise the contributions made by different schools of thought on social movements and tries to situate them in a larger framework rather then dismiss them. Therefore, anyone working within a specific area of social movement studies can gain something from the reading of this book. However, the major contribution of this book is probably the theorization of the "cycles of contentions" based on changing political opportunity structure. As the opportunity structure open for a social movement, the movement is on the rise... when it close, for example because of a change in the public opinion caused by a rise in insecurity and violence, the movement disolve. Although a very simple theory, it appers very effective in understanding the rise and fall of social movements.

As any student of social movements would argue, this book does not cover all aspect of social movements (e.g. identity, emotions, ...) but Tarrow does leave enough space for other approaches while developing is how theoretical approach to social movements. An excellent book!

The authors describe how great businesses redefine themselves and think from the outside in to expand and to conquer stagnation. There is a series of worksheets at the end which test the reader to see how you thing which was helpful.

The title of this book caught my eye and I thought I would learn something profound. Quite frankly, there isn't really anything new here. The basic premise of the book is to understand customers needs or create needs and find a way to fulfill those needs in a profitable way. The book doesn't get into specifics but sites several examples of CEOs growing their respective companies. In general, those sources of growth were simply this..

1.Natural growth, where the market for what you make is strong and expanding
2.Gaining market share through low cost - high productivity growth, rapid cycle times, high asset turnover
3.Proprietary or patented technology
4.Highly-developed distribution channels that you've built over time
5.Opening new markets for your existing products - for example, globalization
6.Gaining power in the marketplace via acquisitions, alliances, vertical integration
7.Expanding your pond
8.Resegmenting your markets
9.Moving into adjacent segments

Ofcourse, the book goes into greater detail about each of the above, if you don't understand it in one sentence.

Main focus of book is to view your company from the outside in,..
1. How can I identify or create needs?
2. How can I meet them?
3. How fast can I meet them?

In essence, look at needs as the drivers of change

Pretty common sense stuff don't you think?

This is why I don't highly recommend this book. Its probably best to just borrow it from the library. You save money ;)

This is one of my favorite leadership books by two authors with whom I have a great deal of respect for their advice. The premise of the book it that by looking at the entire business landscape affecting your clients, there are larger opportunities in which to solve the client's CEO issues beyond the immediate customer orders. Written with real world examples, some of which were first hand consulting jobs by the authors, the examples are detailed and written so you can relate them to your own work.

I have applied these principles in my own professional work and find the concepts very useful in business growth development efforts. In almost every growth opportunity development session with employees, collegues and clients, the going in premise is that there is not enough budget or too limited a market, thus preventing us from pursuing a given opportunity. Applying the author's concepts to creating the expanded view of the opportunity almost always proves to incite a bigger picture for everyone.

The book may require better book bindings because I refer back to it so often that I will one day wear out the bindings!

Read and Expand the Pond! Highly Recommended.

Ram Charan and Noel M. Tichy make the case that no company, even a very large corporation, should think of itself as a mature company or as part of a mature industry. If you look at the market broadly and take your customer's perspective, you will always find room for growth. First, look at your customers' changing needs and think of how your company can expand beyond its current market. Then, expand that approach throughout the company. The basic message may sound familiar, but Charan and Tichy bring a strong how-to approach to their directions for implementing it in your company. We at getAbstract.com appreciate the utility of their mix of examples, graphs, charts, and workbook, which should prove helpful to executives and company owners.

I found this book to be one of the best I have read on the topics of growth and change in some time. This book is devoid of the psychological "fluff" that permeates many other books in this genre. It reads like a practical recipe to be followed by those commited to growth and change. Not at all unlike Welch's annual letters to the shareholders of GE. Whereas the annual letters of others companies drone on and on about what was, surrounded by the fluff of what can be, Welch's letters read like a master plan for action, which can be understood and driven to all levels of the company.

The authors define "desirable" growth from the perspective of shareholders as capital efficient, profitable growth. They then describe a framework for "growing the pond you fish in". Next, they point out the necessity of changing the "genetic code" of the organization so that growth is pursued by leaders at all levels in the organization. They describe a framework for producing this change in the genetic code of the organization. This framework is primarily based on a "teachable point-of-view" developed by the leadership, and constantly reinforced and reiterated through various carefully designed "operating mechanisms". The teachable point-of-view consists of key business ideas, values, emotional energy, and "edge" (on tough calls).

I've read this book twice already, and may read it again. I've started to implement the methodology in my company...so far, so good.

I listen to the CDs during my comute and it helps to reinforce the 7 habits of highly effective people.

It's difficult to give enough praise to what Stephen R. Covey does. I love reading his books and almost anyone will benefit from browsing through the different stories about how people had the courage to face their problems and change by engaging in positive behavior. To state the obvious, 'Living the 7 Habits' is an inspiring read. I would urge a bit of caution, however, in that the laboratory of the real world may not cooperate much with a person living the seven habits. On the other hand, Covey never says it's easy and he at least indirectly reminds the reader that incorporating the seven habits into one's life is an enormous amount of work.

Some of the stories are funny, some are quite sad, and they all demonstrate how the people who were challenged by life had to grow in some way. Living the seven habits is tough, and the reader cannot expect the world to play along, but trying is worth the effort, and the rewards from doing so can be more satisfying than a person ever imagined. I think the people that Covey wrote about in the book would agree.

In addition to about 300 pages of very readable, relevant stories about overcoming adversity and finding a better way of living, the book invites the reader to share stories that are similar to the ones in the book by writing the Franklin Covey Company. Covey also has a Q&A section at the back of the book which is insightful and fun to read. Altogether a very worthwhile book. econ

The audio is delivered in a monotone that almost puts you to sleep. Not a good thing while driving

This is real.

It's difficult to give enough praise to what Stephen R. Covey does. I love reading his books and almost anyone will benefit from browsing through the different stories about how people had the courage to face their problems and change by engaging in positive behavior. To state the obvious, 'Living the 7 Habits' is an inspiring read. I would urge a bit of caution, however, in that the laboratory of the real world may not cooperate much with a person living the seven habits. On the other hand, Covey never says it's easy and he at least indirectly reminds the reader that incorporating the seven habits into one's life is an enormous amount of work.

Some of the stories are funny, some are quite sad, and they all demonstrate how the people who were challenged by life had to grow in some way. Living the seven habits is tough, and the reader cannot expect the world to play along, but trying is worth the effort, and the rewards from doing so can be more satisfying than a person ever imagined. I think the people that Covey wrote about in the book would agree.

In addition to about 300 pages of very readable, relevant stories about overcoming adversity and finding a better way of living, the book invites the reader to share stories that are similar to the ones in the book by writing the Franklin Covey Company. Covey also has a Q&A section at the back of the book which is insightful and fun to read. Altogether a very worthwhile book. econ

I've been listening to Stephen Covey for years, and I think he's one of the wisest observers of the human spirit around.

While all of his programs are inspiring, Living the 7 Habits is probably the most moving - because it brings the 7 Habits to life, by showing how people have used them to change their lives for the better.

I was so moved hearing some of these stories, and even more moved when I realized that, thanks to Dr. Covey's wonderful guidance, I can bring the same wisdom and insight into my own life.

It's pretty clear that I was already familiar with the 7 Habits when I heard this, but you don't have to be - I recommend this as an excellent starting point for anybody who is encountering this way of living for the very first time, as well as for people like me who have heard and read a lot about it but can still use some help putting it to work on a day to day basis.

And what a generous program it is - nine compact discs long, but it doesn't even cost $30 ... even less with discounts!

This book is absolutely brimming with scientific information. The author, a geologist specializing on past climate changes, takes the reader on a fascinating quest: to quantify the variations in past climates and to understand the mechanisms precipitating these variations. Spanning a period starting about 55 million years ago, the book covers a variety of methods that scientists use to tease out information on past climates. Understandably, determining what has happened in the distant past can be very tricky and is open to interpretation; this is where the author brilliantly illustrates the scientific method at work. It is clear from this book, especially the final chapter, that the author is convinced that humans are at least partly responsible for the currently observed global warming; consequently, he worries about the future if nothing is done soon to remedy the situation. The writing style is quite clear, friendly, authoritative and accessible. This book can be enjoyed by anyone, but would likely be appreciated the most by science buffs - whether they agree with the author's views on the human contribution to climate change or not.

to really understand the problem, and to really understand how one can make a difference and to really understand the forces at work that will prevent any solution this is an excellent primer. It reads in laymen terms so you don't get all boondoggled by the science. It lays out the facts clearly and concisely and examines all the alternate sources of energy and their drawbacks. The Kyoto protocol is examined and the USA's reasons for not ratifying it. A very detailed and interesting read. Maybe I'm just too cynical, maybe I don't have enough faith in mankind, maybe I'm just depressed about this whole global warming and the world we're leaving to our children but I think it might be better to get beyond the argument of global warming, is it? or is it not? are we responsible? or aren't we? maybe..we should move the questions to a higher plain, like what can we do to make sure mankind survives?

David King is reported to have said that unless we stop manmade global warming, by 2100 the only habitable continent will be Antarctica. Need I say more?
This book seems to be full of alarmist claims about what might happen if we do nothing and dubious proposals about what we should do.
The thing is that the people of the World are not doing nothing about climate change and nor will they. But hopefully they will think of more creative solutions to the problem than the same old same old injunctions to reduce emissions drastically in the next 20 years that we hear from King and Walker. Such reductions would likely have dramatic negative consequences -- especially for the poor. So it is imperative that we start thinking about smarter solutions, such as reducing barriers to adaptation. If catastrophe is a real possibility, then maybe we should be looking more closely at geoengineering? Meanwhile, a smart approach to incentivising reducing carbon emissions would involve improving the incentives to R&D, while possibly introducing low level -- and revenue neutral -- carbon taxes.

Far from being too alarmist, this book, like many others on this topic, does not go far enough in warning of the dangers of global warming. The problem appears to be that most authors are over-involved in particular areas of research, and have not seen the broadest view of the problem. Also, the available information is changing rapidly. I have done extensive research myself over the past six years, and had already concluded that the problem was more grave than generally known. My suspicions were confirmed when recent research by Russian Scientists found that the Methane Hydrates on the Arctic Ocean floor are already melting and releasing large amounts of methane into the atmosphere. This, coupled with the methane production of warming tundra and melting permafrost areas, creates a vastly greater danger of rapid climate change, since a conservative estimate is that these Methane Hydrates contain well over 500 billion tons of Methane, which is twenty times worse than CO2 as a "greenhouse" gas. Therefore, while this book is useful as another analysis urging action, new work needs to be done to demonstrate clearly to people such as the author of the previous review that the situation is truly urgent, and that calls for immediate action to cool the planet are anything but alarmist.

I liked this book. It seemed to be written for an audience of older timer marketing professionals who have not taken the plunge into the Internet world. The target audience seems to have followed the rule "If it ain't broke, then don't fix it," and they followed that rule too long and now they are not very effective marketers. Such people will get a lot from this book if they intend to continue working as a marketing professional. It covers Internet Marketing, and how to get comfortable doing it.

The book is comprised of just 9 chapters:

1. They're doing wonderful things with computers
2. New wine in old bottles
3. Marketing is a conversation
4. Going over to the dark side
5. The new customer relations
6. Customers vote with their mice
7. This doesn't work for me
8. This doesn't work where I work
9. This stuff changes too fast

It is well organized and well written. And it was very easy to read. My first pass on it involved reading the summary of Section 1 which lead me directly to the chapter summaries for chapters 1 to 3. Then I read the summary for Section 2, which lead me directly to the chapter summaries for chapters 4 to 6. Lastly I read the summary for Section 3, which lead me directly to the chapter summaries for chapters 7 to 9. It all made perfect sense. And in no time I was done with the book.

What these old time marketers who read this book will learn is that marketing is not totally new in our Internet Age. Instead, the Internet just offers new twists on old marketing approaches. Marketing used to be done through passive mediums. But the Internet with Web sites and email have made it possible to do marketing as a give and take process. Marketing is now about building relationships with customers rather than simply winning customers.

As the author says in the book: Marketing is now a conversation, and feedback from your customers helps you adjust what you do every day.

Sometimes what you will do will not be well received or produce good results. These are instances that the title of the book is referring to (Do It Wrong Quickly). As long as you adjust your tactics quickly, nobody is going to hold you liable for not doing it right the first time. We all make mistakes. And we all hopefully learn from our mistakes. The point of the book is that companies that perform Internet Marketing in order to build good relationships with their customers will come out ahead in the competitive world of business. 4 stars!

A direct hit on how the web is revolutionizing marketing!

More importantly, "Do It Wrong Quickly" is packed full of advice and tips for small businesses to leverage the Internet to take the lead in their marketplace, even against the titans!

What makes this book such a great reading experience is the fact that Mike Moran has left no one out. We all come to this new arena of web marketing with a sense of uncertainty. This book allows you to preview the most promising networking solutions available on the web today, and encourages you to get out there and find (or invent!) some of your own.

Do It Wrong Quickly is a very entertaining read that is thick with relevant information. Ignore it at your own peril.

This is an excellent book that is worth taking the time to finish. Mike breaks down complex information into tips that readers can use immediately. Plus, his humor and comedic timing make reading the book a fun learning experience. Adult learners who need an introduction into the value of Web marketing will find this book useful.

Mike Moran's second book, "Do It Wrong Quickly", has something for every reader. The seasoned marketer will no doubt garner at least a few new ideas (though probably more than a few) to try, whether in innovative ways to start the conversation with customers, or in how to effectively listen to the customer in the Web Age. A novice to the field will quickly realize the growing importance of the internet marketing field and some of the fundamental changes that are a result of all companies, big or small, risking their reputations in the public forum.

You even get to delve into numbers a bit, with the discussion of web metrics and how looking at the factors involved in running your website can dramatically increase your number of conversions. To go along with the prospect of learning something you didn't know, there is the added benefit of Mike's friendly and funny writing style. He also provides useful and interesting examples, sprinkled in just enough to always keep the material fresh and entertaining. I highly recommend this book to everyone seeking to learn more about internet marketing, or even just to learn more about how the Web has changed the way we do (successful) business today.

this book be the bombie-(because I was in it-I was one of the batters)! highly recommended. a must read. GO BUY IT!

I have read several books and watched several video/DVD's on baseball instruction for Little Leaguers. So far, this is my favorite. Don't let the title fool you, this book isn't just about fixing specific problems, in the process it teaches the proper methods from start to finish, whether it be hitting, throwing/catching, pitching or fielding. Other books, DVD's, videos etc., teach proper methods, but they don't teach you how to recognize problems. This book does. This book points them out for you, like recognizing a tired pitcher. No Little League pitcher will tell the coach he's tired and needs to come out of the game, after reading this book, the coach will know. I compare all other books to this one. I constantly refer to this book for a reference.

Most of the Little League coaches I have come across could probably find something to learn from this book. If you have a player who is stuggling with some part of his game, chances are some of what he or she is doing wrong is talked about in this book.

I've used some of the drills described in the book, and for the most part they've helped. I wouldn't recommend this as your first book if you are new to coaching, but maybe as your second or third...

If you are a baseball novice, or if you never played ball above the Little League level, this book may be of value to you as a coach. Otherwise, there is little here that will strike an experienced coach or player as new or insightful.

In general, I've found that the books published by Little League Baseball for coaches aren't very helpful. In fact, the only book I've found on the subject that contains useful, practical advice is "Bean's About Baseball."

Speaking as someone from an alcoholic family, this book helps you "detach, with love" as they say in AA. You realize you can live life for yourself and that you deserve to. The courage to change is needed because the old patterns are familiar and comfortable, but they no longer work. The book brings together wisdom from diverse sources, is divided into 365 short sections corresponding to days of the year, and encourages you truthfully, yet warmly, every step of the way. Read this, it's time to stop beating up on yourself!!

I've been in recovery for five years, and I use this book to start my day. It's full of helpful recovery reminders that make it a very special source of inspiration for me. My relationship with Jesus Christ, the Bible, and this little book make my recovery possible. I'd recommend it to anyone who struggles with issues of codependency.

This little book is chocked full of inspiration