Marketing accountability : how to measure marketing effectiveness

 by Malcolm McDonald. Marketing experts McDonald and Mouncey (both affiliated with Cranfield Univ. School of Management, UK) articulate what a predictable and controlled marketing program would look like from the perspective of the financial control function. Often marketing activities are terra incognito to financial managers and those seeking to assess and align marketing with corporate strategy and financial accountability. So, in this work the authors attempt to view marketing from the largely different perspective of financial management and corporate strategy, and they present strategies and tools for making marketing activities more accountable. This work also offers a different cultural perspective in that it presents a largely European perspective on the above described divide. The very first sentence of the introduction sets the volume's theme: "This book is a major breakthrough for marketing and a must-read for all marketers who are depressed by the very low regard in which marketing is held...." Marketers and other corporate executives will find this book a useful guide to deciphering the Rosetta stones of their corporate functions and perspectives, but they should take the "depressed" theme with a large dollop of proverbial salt. The book is well organized, written with clarity, and contains nice graphics. --Choice (Check Catalog)

Delivering happiness : a path to profits, passion, and purpose

 by Tony Hsieh. Zappos CEO Hsieh offers a compelling account of his transformation from callow Harvard student entrepreneur through his years as a dot-com wunderkind to the creator of a formidable brand. Interest might flag as Hsieh, fresh off selling his Internet company LinkExchange to Yahoo in 1999 for $265 million, kvetches about lacking fulfillment. But as the tech boom bursts, and Hsieh confronts his dwindling investments, his story comes alive. As the funding for his incubator companies dries up and one of his most promising startups, Zappos.com, a shoe retailer, seems doomed, Hsieh blossoms into a mature businessperson, slashing expenses and presciently making customer service the essence of the company's brand. The story becomes suspenseful as Hsieh recounts the stress of operating in survival mode, liquidating his assets to fund the company in its darkest days and seeking out an 11th-hour loan. By the time Zappos is acquired by Amazon for more than $1.2 billion in 2009, Hsieh and his team had built a unique corporate culture dedicated to employee empowerment and the promise of delivering happiness though satisfied customers and a valued workforce. An uplifting tale of entrepreneurial success, personal growth, and redemption. --Publishers Weekly. (Check catalog)

Home Business Tax Deductions

 by Stephen Fishman. The 6th edition is completely updated with all the latest tax information, eligibility requirements and deductions for 2009 returns. Home Business Tax Deductions also includes new information on tax planning. --Publisher. (Check Catalog)

Pilgrimage to Warren Buffett's Omaha : a hedge fund manager's dispatches from inside the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting

 by Jeff Matthews. They come to Omaha by the tens of thousands, flocking to an annual meeting that has become legendary for investors, businesspeople, and fans of one of the most savvy capitalists on the planet. They come to eat steak, buy furniture at a discount, and bask in the brilliance of value investor extraordinaire, Warren Buffet.


Hedge fund founder, financial blogger, and professional skeptic Jeff Matthews got his own highly-coveted ticket to the Berkshire Hathaway meeting held only for shareholders and their guests--and proceeded to post reports on his blog, offering tempting glimpses into the much-discussed meeting. Now Matthews delivers a full-length account of his adventures at this infamous financial hoedown. --Publisher. (Check Catalog)

The way we're working isn't working : the four forgotten needs that energize great performance

 by Tony Schwartz. Schwartz coauthored the bestseller The Power of Full Engagement (2003) and is the CEO of The Energy Project, bringing effective energy management coaching to organizations such as Google, Ford, Sony, Toyota, and the Los Angeles Police Department. His project and this book are shedding light on what most working folks know but don't like to talk about: that most of us are not fully engaged or satisfied in our work environment; that we are constantly running on an unsustainable schedule that does not allow for enough sleep; and in addition to being physically tired, we are not allowed the kind of emotional, creative, and spiritual outlets that we need to be fulfilled. Schwartz notes that people at work are expected to run continuously, like machines, but unlike machines or computers, people do not function well when forced to work and process information on a continual basis, but need a balance of activities that allow for both expending and recovering energy. He proposes solutions for business leaders to maximize human potential by embracing our need for both effort and renewal. --Booklist (Check Catalog)

The complete guide to writing effective and award winning business proposals : step-by-step instructions

 by Jean Wilson Murray. Murray has some 27 years of experience assisting small business owners, and has published several business start up books for professionals. Her latest text provides practical guidelines for business professionals in all types of organizations, from small single-owner businesses to large multinational firms, on how to write proposals for a number of purposes including obtaining loans from banks, lenders, and investors; selling products to customers; selling professional services to clients; and persuading bosses to approve new projects. The text covers the three key phases of a business proposal--preparation, writing, and presentation--and includes examples of different types and styles of business proposals, such as sales proposals to clients, letters and memos as business proposals, proposals to government entities, internal proposals to top management, and business plans as a special type of business proposal. --Summary. (Check Catalog)

The ascent of money : a financial history of the world

 by Niall Ferguson. This is a work of extraordinary breadth of scholarship and penetrating judgments, and there is nothing that equals it. Ferguson (Harvard Univ.; Oxford Univ., UK) provides expansive coverage of the birth of debt, banking, bankruptcies, and people's repeated indulgence in them. Written in a graceful, flowing style, this book is a judicious blend of elegantly simplified economic theory and history. This reviewer concurs with the author's verdict that the theory of economics and finance is consummate in mathematics but devoid of history and consequently lacks a touch with reality. Anyone who wants to understand financial history traversing through institutional mutation and natural selection will be enlightened by reading this work. Books are written to be read, but Ferguson's book is written to be read, reread, and savored. --Choice (Check Catalog)