Book Summaries

In The First 90 Days, Harvard Business School professor Michael Watkins presents a road map for taking charge in the first 90 days of a new executive position. The first days in a new position are critical because small differences in actions can have a huge impact on long-term results. This summary will equip executives with strategies and tools to get up to speed faster and achieve more sooner. Watkins shows readers how to diagnose a situation and understand its challenges and...

A Soundview Featured Book Review
Ten years after the worldwide bestseller Good to Great, Jim Collins returns with another groundbreaking work, this time to ask: Why do some companies thrive in uncertainty, even chaos, and others do not? Based on nine years of research, buttressed by rigorous analysis and infused with engaging stories, Collins and his colleague, Morten Hansen, enumerate the principles for building a truly great enterprise in unpredictable, tumultuous...

Brian "Iron Ed" Hiner tells what it’s like to be a SEAL and what shapes the intense sense of sacrifice, teamwork and mutual commitment they share. From his own 20-year career as a Navy SEAL and his hands-on experience of commanding hundreds of strategic combat missions and operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and across the globe, Hiner extracts business leadership lessons that can help leaders isolate what’s most important, especially in stressful times.

Kubicek and Cokram describe five gears that represent different modes of effectively connecting with others and balancing work and life in a meaningful and productive way. By shifting into the right gear at the right time, you can improve your relationships and increase your respect, influence and productivity.

Anne-Marie Slaughter offers her own story as a backdrop for discussing the challenges that face women who seek to have an incredible career while nurturing a happy family.

One of the all-time bestselling books on time management, "The Time Trap" has shown countless readers how to squeeze the optimal efficiency — and satisfaction — out of their work day. Filled with smart tactics, revealing interviews, and handy time management tools, this is the proven guide professionals need to get everything under control.

The exploding demand for inside sales leaders means that top reps are being promoted even if they are unprepared for management. Despite their expertise with traditional techniques, many don’t "get" the new world of Sales 2.0.

Slow Down, Sell Faster! shows you how to stop jumping the gun and work with your customers to identify and quantify their real needs, so by the time you begin your pitch in earnest, you're already halfway home.

According to Mark Samuel, who has helped thousands of people around the world get on the path to personal achievement and fulfillment, shows why the key to becoming indispensable is to embrace accountability rather than run from it in everything you do at work and in your personal life. Becoming indispensable doesn’t require a fancy degree, a senior management title or huge income. It’s a mind-set available to anyone.