Cool Book Of The Day

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Question: Who is the intended audience?
Answer: This book is for anyone who:

•  Ever lost a great employee to another company, and it wasn’t about money.
An unhappy employee will leave for a 5% pay increase; it takes a 20% increase to compel a satisfied employee to jump ship.

•  Struggles with when to be fair and when to be firm.
Most bosses would like to get results, but they don’t want to do so with a trail of disgruntled people in your wake.  They can learn the dos and don’ts of F2 Leadership.

•  Has made bad hires in the past.
A bad hire costs the company about 1 to 4 times that person’s annual salary.  They will find the 10 tips for not hiring squirrels to be your top dogs.

•  Doesn’t seem to get their messages across very well.
This book provides a step-by-step model to communicate more effectively, especially when engaging in difficult conversations.

•  Spends too much time at the office.
Bosses can get back 10 to 20 hours of your week, not by telling direct reports what to do, but by delegating effectively and making people accountable for results.

•  Has direct reports who are bored or frustrated.
Only 20% of people feel their employers utilize their strengths.  When people don’t feel a sense of achievement, they leave.

•  Wants to respond more effectively to change.
This book helps bosses better understand change, plan its direction, and overcome resistance to it.

•  Needs to know how to conduct more powerful and behavior-changing performance appraisals.
Bosses can learn ways to develop people so they offer more to the organization, feel empowered, and see opportunities for advancement.

•  Would like to conduct better meetings.
Bosses will discover how to make the best use of everyone’s time and put plans into action.

Q: What is the book about?
A: In my work with hundreds of first-time bosses, I found that no one had really prepared them for their new jobs.  In college some studied engineering, marketing, accounting, or some other job function.  Some even took a course or two in management, yet they still weren’t prepared for the responsibilities of having direct reports.

Q: Why are you the best person to write this book?
A: For more than 30 years, I have helped executives in military organizations, small businesses, and Fortune 500 Companies define their direction and select the best people to put their strategies in motion. I have helped clients in the retail, financial services, food, medical, hospitality, manufacturing, and technology industries.  Some of my major clients include Tyson, Emerson Electric, Kraft Foods, Boeing Aircraft, Estee Lauder, and Merrill Lynch. Through thousands of hours of coaching with hundreds of corporate clients, I have observed what it takes to become the boss no one wants to leave.

I hold a Ph.D. in organizational systems, two Master of Arts degrees in both interpersonal communication and organization development, and a Bachelor of Science degree in communication. By combining my experience as an organizational consultant with my education in business, I offer my clients selection, coaching, and consulting solutions that are pragmatic in their approach and sound in their foundation.

A former university professor, I have served on the adjunct graduate faculty at Washington University and belong to The National Speakers Association, The National Association of Corporate Directors, and the Air Force Association. I hold numerous certifications, including Director of Professionalism, a designation given by the National Association of Corporate Directors.

In addition to being the author of The Magnetic Boss: How to Become the Leader No One Wants to Leave, which Washington University uses in its graduate curriculum, I have also served as a contributing editor of two editions of Small Group Communication: Theory and Practice, written peer-reviewed published articles, and authored numerous articles published in trade magazines.

Serious about humor, I draw from my original research of the Vietnam Prisoners of War to help others cope with change and adversity so they can emerge from setbacks more resilient and hardy. I continue to associate with the Robert E. Mitchell Prisoner of War Center, a Naval research facility that has studied the Vietnam Prisoners of War since their 1973 repatriation.

Q: How is this book different from other books on this topic?
A: This book is an amalgamation of what I observed—and in many cases, helped create—in Fortune 500 Companies, privately held firms, family-owned businesses, and military organizations. The advice I offer in this book goes beyond theory; it addressed practical, proven techniques to help companies develop a talent advantage. Bosses can use this book as a guide for what they must do to attract, develop, and retain the best and brightest in their industries.

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Question: Who is the intended audience?
Answer: Single senior males and females! (Under 50’s need not apply!) Loneliness is a terrible thing. In my humble opinion it is one of the greatest factors in the ageing process. At 76 I am more agile and ‘alive’ than many 20 years my junior – I believe the principal contributing factor is because over the last 30 odd years my companions have been at least 20 years younger than I. It is also my conviction that this situation applies equally to both male and female.

Q: What is the book about?
A: It is about the methods I have employed to find suitable younger partners during my single years! I have never been comfortable living on my own. After my first marriage break up I formed a relationship with my then 18 year old assistant who eventually became my partner of some 11 years. I was 45! With the greatest respect to my past and present partners – these I believe will remain the happiest years of my life.

Q: Why are you the best person to write this book?
A: I was once described by a TV interviewer “as one of the most fascinating men in the world!” I’m quite sure she was exaggerating or had led a very sheltered life! I have just married my 7th partner! (22 years younger than me) – 5 of my 7 partners have been at least 25 years my junior! – I am 76 years of age. The book not only details my uncensored experiences with my first YOUNG loves, but details many of my exciting encounters since.

Q: How is this book different from other books on this topic?
A: My book pulls no punches and tells it like it is! (Warning – this book may be hazardous to your wealth!) Only the names of my PAST ladies have been changed to protect the innocent (ME!) In the book I try to explore the many options available to a senior in search of a YOUNGER partner! The subject as been treated as taboo by most writers. I am not ashamed of my many ‘affairs’ as I truly believe that it is only by continuing to search that a true ‘treasure’ can be discovered – a lesson I learned in my youth as an archaeologist! Once discovered however it should be nurtured and treasured as the precious ‘relationship’ it truly is!

Q: Is there anything else we should know about this book?
A: When I originally wrote this book 10 years ago (now revised) the sub title was “How to get laid for $17.95!” It does however address a serious problem facing most single seniors! For that reason I have completely rewritten the book to include the more modern methods available like Internet dating etc. Many seniors even today are not comfortable with the Internet and computers and the book therefore provides what I discovered to be a very effective alternative.

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Question: Who is the intended audience?
Answer: Those interested in the thinkers, authors, scientists, artists, musicians–the people who have shaped and are shaping early twenty-first century culture and thought.

Q: What is the book about?
A: It’s a collection of interviews with minds of all kinds. Spanning nearly a decade, Follow for Now includes interviews with such luminaries as Bruce Sterling, Douglas Rushkoff, DJ Spooky, Philip K. Dick, Aesop Rock, Erik Davis, Howard Bloom, David X. Cohen, Richard Saul Wurman, N. Katherine Hayles, Manuel De Landa, Rudy Rucker, Milemarker, Steve Aylett, Doug Stanhope, Paul Roberts, Shepard Fairey, Tod Swank, dälek, Eric Zimmerman, Steven Johnson, Mark Dery, Geert Lovink, Brenda Laurel, and many, many more.

Q: Why are you the best person to write this book?
A: My main project from 1997 to 2007 was frontwheeldrive.com, through which I established myself as what Disinformation editor Alex Burns called,“one of the internet’s leading interviewers of subculture and new-science icons.” Scott McCloud described the site as “nicely designed and packed with ideas (a rarity on both counts).” Follow for Now is the best of the interviews from that site. Erik Davis called it “a crisp and substantial remix of the major memes of the last decade or so.”

Q: How is this book different from other books on this topic?
A: What other books on this topic?

Q: Is there anything else we should know about this book?
A: Follow for Now is excellent for browsing. Each interview, having been originally conducted for online consumption, is short but in-depth. This makes the book great for reading on the go — or on the toilet.

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Question: Who is the intended audience?
Answer: The target audiences are primarily those individuals who have an interest in the economy, finance and/or investing and are or may be personally financially impacted by the state of the economy. The secondary market includes those who would like to learn about the finance and investment world and/or are interested in pursuing entrepreneurial ventures within finance and/or real estate.

Q: What is the book about?
A: Standing in the Rain takes the complex subject of the economic crisis which has been experienced in both the United States and throughout the world and helps to explain the situation to the general public in layman’s terms.  It offers a well-rounded perspective from Thomas J. Powell, a seasoned financial authority.  The book takes a detailed, up-to-date (it will be updated again at the end of the Summer or when relevant when it becomes apparent in which direction the economy is moving at that time) snapshot of the current economic state in the country by addressing three specific areas:

1.      How did we get here?

2.      How do we get through this?

3.      What will the other side look like?

In addition, the book addresses each state and provides a snapshot of major economic issues occurring in them. We have already heard back from several business leaders and governors stating they found the information to be both relevant and appropriate.

Q: Why are you the best person to write this book?
A: Thomas J. Powell felt compelled to write this book not only because of the obvious financial crisis being felt by every business sector and individual, but also because it is a perfect marriage of his expertise in Economics, Finance and Real Estate.  He is an instructor in Real Estate Finance at Harvard University, has recently completed his MBA in Real Estate and is considering pursuing his Ph.D at Edinburgh University in Scotland.  More important, Thomas has real-life experience of more than 20 years belly to belly in the topic, not just within the academic world, which can often shelter individuals from the reality of what is occurring in the marketplace.

Because Thomas works everyday in the marketplace through his company, ELP Capital, Inc., and produces a weekly newsletter titled:  The Powell Perspective:  Observations on the Economy, Real Estate, Finance and Investing, he is able to easily update the content of the book as necessary to take it to market through a major publisher and still have it be fresh and relevant to the general public.

How is this book different from other books on this topic:  Examples of key competition and differences are as follows:

¨      Cooper, George, The Origin of Financial Crises (Vintage, 2008)

¨      Shiller, Robert, The Subprime Solution (Princeton Press, 2008)

¨      Soros, George, The New Paradigm for Financial Markets (Public Affairs, 2008)

¨      Zandi, Mark, Financial Shock (FT Press, 2009)

Standing in the Rain is unique from the examples listed above in that it takes the economic crisis and brings it to the individual’s level of understanding, application to one’s life and how to turn one’s personal financial challenges into success.  It is not just about understanding the market, it is about understanding how the market impacts the person and what he or she can do about it to help themselves both get through it and excel in the process.

Q: Is there anything else we should know about this book?
A: Thomas Powell has been a speaker on Economics and Finance for several years.  He speaks 10-15 times per year to groups of sizes ranging from 50-250 on the topic.  Tom’s speaking engagement list is included in this package which illustrates his various audiences and speaking locations, including a recent presentation in Buenos Aires in conjunction with one of his Harvard professors.  Tom has a weekly newsletter and podcast, The Powell Perspective, which can be found at www.thepowellperspective.com.  The current distribution is approximately 10,000 since its inception in March 2009; the goal is to have the distribution up to 100,000 by the end of the year.

Both Thomas and his wife, Tonya, have significant business circles that extend throughout the country and world.  In addition to Tom’s multitude of Harvard contacts throughout the world, he serves as a National Trustee for Boys and Girls Clubs of America (BGCA), which has many Fortune 100 CEOs on its Board of Directors and Board of Governors.  Tonya is also heavily involved with BGCA and has built a very solid sphere of business owners and directors from her time with AT&T and her numerous wealthy and noted clients within the Powell’s financial investment company, ELP Capital, Inc.

Please see www.standingintherain.com or www.thepowellperspective.com for further information!