An enjoyable popular science book on an unusual, although unexpectedly pervasive, topic. It runs from the foam that tops beer to the structure of the galaxies within the universe.
Song of Sorcery by Elizabeth Scarborough
An older sweet fantasy with a strong female character that I really enjoyed for being both a hearthwitch and an unexpected heroine. But I don't think I'll be taking the time to read the sequels.
African and Oceanic Art by Margaret Trowell and Hans Nevermann
I'd never really seen the variety of African sculpture pictured here and it was fascinating to see the different features emphasized in the collection of masks and statues.
Setting Limits with Your Strong-Willed Child by Robert J. MacKenzie
I bought this one because my daughter is umm, very strong-willed, and could be adjusting to our move (and her new school) better. This was well written, with great action items and examples. I will be putting these principles into action.
Google+ for Business by Chris Brogan
I'd been avoiding this social network because I just didn't understand it. After a spate of articles in the blogs I was reading I decided to devote some of my brain to the problem and bought Chris' book. Everything is MUCH clearer now and I've started playing.
Once a Princess and Twice a Prince by Sherwood Smith
These are lighter books than her Inda series, more like the Crown Duel pair. I especially liked that the middle-aged mother was one of the main characters and we heard her voice as well. I was annoyed that at the end of the first book, the younger main character sounded very much like the determined blindness that the heroine in Crown Duel had. Overall enjoyable.
]]>In the short term I am to help customers and prospects with questions and product recommendations that involved more technical knowledge than the Customer Service Specialists or the average Account Manager may have. Previously the questions would go to the Product Manager or the R&D department.
There's a lot to learn. The products I am working with are essentially paper and I had never realized how much knowledge and complexity went into making paper on a continuously running machine plus into developing the properties of the finished product. I am catching on quickly, building on my previous experiences, but I look forward to developing more depth.
There's a lot to learn about the markets, too. The primary ones for the products I am working with are related to the life sciences. Yet the filter papers are used in so many different ways as a minor part of the overall function being discussed that learning about end-uses feels like a one customer at a time sort of thing.
In the long term, my job will include a range of marketing and sales support activities, we're just not entirely sure what they'll be from one month to another. So far I've worked on a competitive analysis and a patent search plus I am currently working on an animated presentation for the sales force. I intend to be able to suggest my own projects and ways to add technical values to our customers before the end of my first 90 days.
I am very happy with my new position. I like the job, the science, the people, the company. Plus, as a family we're unpacking ourselves in our new home in Carlisle, PA and adjusting well.
]]>This last book in the quartet was decent. I enjoyed it. But overall it didn't finish up well enough to reread or keep the series.
The Rules of Work by Richard Templar
Valuable looking career advice with some humorous side commentary.
Touchpoints by Douglas R. Conant and Mette Norgaard
A management book with a few illustrations of a simple concept. A magazine article would likely have been enough, but the book was enjoyable to read.
How to Make a Boring Subject Interesting by Geni Whitehouse, Amy Moore, and Mary Patterson
A great book on presentations. I've been reading Geni's blog for a while and had to see what went in the book.
Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey Moore
I finally got around to reading the actual book instead of just works based on it or articles summarizing it. I enjoyed the expanded view and greater subtleties that could be discussed.
The Flinch by Julien Smith
A shorter Kindle book with one key idea that is well worth reading. It matched with my own experiences on the necessity of pushing past temporary emotional discomfort and gave me some good ideas for moving forwards.
The Snow Queen's Shadow by Jim C. Hines
A good addition to this series of mished up and mashed up fairy tale stories. I'm sorry that he's done for now.
Know What You Don't Know by Michael A. Roberto
Good ideas for developing skills as a problem-finder. I'll be reading this one again and trying to put these ideas into action.
The Emperor's Edge by Lindsay Buroker
I really enjoyed the characters in this fiction work and how the heroine achieved her successes by working with them. I'm seriously considering getting the next two.
Evil Plans by Hugh MacLeod
Great book. Even if you don't have evil plans about becoming a small biz entrepreneur, the book still pushes you, in a fun and hardly noticeable way, to consider possibilities and live the best life you can.
]]>My title was "Production Clerk" and all day Monday and something over half the day the rest of the week I processed paper work. I put in orders and prepared paperwork for them to be fulfilled, updated one aspect of the production schedule, and added information from the production logs to the reporting database.
But at 3:30 pm each afternoon I got to participate in the the daily production meeting. And that was the eye opener. My biggest lessons:
Progress on the priority project was expected each and every day. There was the understanding that this was in addition to the daily duties required to get product out the door, but it was still expected. And if it wasn't getting done, then an explanation of obstacles (with ways to remove them, if applicable) was also expected.
Projects were deliberately defined in chunks that could be set up and executed within a week or less, although the auditing of the training portion could extend for months. It' was one completed project after another. One potential for success or failure after another.
Even though most of what we discussed was related to immediately obvious problems, some of it was also more overarching. The big picture was referred to on a regular basis and kept in mind. One area was not the exclusive focus, but things moved around.
When a question about quality came up that involved a concerted effort, all the improvement projects were put on hold in order to first protect the customer and second develop the data of what was causing the problem to fix the root cause.
When I write this down it doesn't quite capture the feeling I got when I realized these things, because it becomes once more words on a page instead of seeing in action a person, the head of the plant at the time, who has mastered many of the things I'd like to learn. He made the principle real, doable, and memorable.
]]>An in-depth retelling of Rumpelstiltskin that had some very interesting ideas in it, but seemed somewhat disjointed. It took me a while to read because I kept leaving and returning. Basically a good story.
Changes by Mercedes Lackey
I always enjoy reading a Valdemar book and Mags is an interesting character, although the strong dialect got a bit frustrating to read sometimes. Not the best, but still enjoyable.
Superheroes: The Best of Philosophy and Pop Culture ed. by William Irwin
This was FUN (well, for me anyway, since I'm both somewhat geeky and introspective). It took the moral and philosophical issues that are played out as part of comic book stories and tied them into the writings of philosophers who look at the things more abstractly. They have a whole series of books like this and I'll want to get some more.
Gifts in Sand and Water by Annie Bellet
A nice collection of fantasy short stories. I found especially interesting one where Delilah was not betraying Samson but helping him.
Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker
I'd been referred to this book by one of the Success magazine audio interviews and found it everything I'd hoped for. Some was a bit over the top, but the key principles and comparisons were things I would like to return to and think about.
We Are All Weird by Seth Godin
The concept is intriguing by itself - that consumer marketing has changed because the opportunities for choice have made weird the new normal. And it's different when you are marketing to weird than a standardized normal. And then the book elaborates in a helpful way. I suspect I'll read this again.
Fierce Converations by Susan Scott
Very good book about having the conversations you've been avoiding and doing it in an effective way that makes work or home relationships work beter.
The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan
I'm still enjoying this young adult Greek/Roman demi-gods in modern times series. The quest felt like a bit of a repetition in tone from the first books, but the characters and their concerns were so different that the feeling was just swept away
Break Your Own Rules by Jill Flynn, Kathryn Heath, and Mary Davis Holt
I devoured this book in an evening but even if I'd paid full price for it (free because I won the In Bubble Wrap giveaway) it would have still been worth it. The subtitle of the book is "How to Change the Paths of Thinking that Block Women's Paths to Power" and each concept along the way is clearly laid out as a comparison of typical vs. necessary. It's hardly the first book in the genre, but it resonated with me, and I recognized a couple behaviors that I had displayed in the past that had probably been working against me reaching my goals. I'm looking forward to applying their counterparts, of course, first I need to adapt these ideas and others to helping me get a career job...
]]>I bought this one to review for the job as well and found a number of aha moments about why a few things didn't work with my first intuition driven attempts to build pivot tables. The book gave clear explanations and options and I will be keeping it for reference for the future.
Think Better: An Innovators Guide to Productive Thinking by Tim Hurson
I'd been wanting to read this for awhile and I picked up a copy at the Borders going out of business sale. It was another instructive model, more practically oriented than some other books I'd read, and very intriguing.
A Lust for Lead by Robert Davis
What the heck was this guy thinking when he named his book? It sounds like a romance novel.
But it was a supernatural Western structured around the trope of a gunfighting contest of the type seen in the movie The Quick and the Dead but with the added element of the almost living nature of guns and how their development had created a new level of demons. Of course, that wouldn't have been enough to keep me reading without a interestingly conflicted main character.
There was still something a little off about the book, a feeling of some sort that betrayed it as not vouched for by a professional editor, but I read to the end and enjoyed it.
Pictures of the Mind by Miriam Boleyn-Fitzgerald
The book is about what new imaging techniques have told us over the last few years. It was interesting, although not particularly recommendable.
Interesting enough, but not stellar. I probably should have used my time to read one of the more mainstream ones on the topic.
WebMage by Kelly McCullough
This was just cool - a cross between an aspect of Greek mythology - that the three Fates had children and grandchilren and so forth. And that interconnected computers were being used for magic - including laptops that were really trolls. It was a really good story too. I'm looking forward to finding the sequels.
The Creative License by Danny Gregory
A reread for me. I enjoyed his take on creativity and drawing and journaling and especially all the illustrations. I'll be leting someone else enjoy it soon though.
First things First by Stephen R. Covey, Roger Merrill, and Rebecca Merrill
It was okay and I imagine is very useful to some people. However, I didn't really feel like it added much to Seven Habits.
Habit: The 95% of Behavior Marketers Ignore by Neale Martin
Very intriguing idea. While it could probably have been discussed sufficiently in a Harvard Business Review article, I did read the entire book. The premise is that making your product habitual is better than making it great - because after a certain point people follow their usual pattern instead of consciously rethinking each choice. An unexpected corollary is that surveying satisfied buyers can actually be counter-productive because it makes them re-examine their choices.
More Balls than Most by Lara Morgan
Wow, she accomplished a lot. The book is about her building a business selling hotel toiletries from nothing to millions before she sold. She talks about the risks, the mindshifts she had to make as the company grew, the principles that worked for her, and even a little about how she did all this while having three kids, although that last is not the focus.
The book might have benefited by a bit more editing, but I definitely recommend it if you're interested in entrepreneurial stories, especially ones set outside the tech industry.
]]>I found this book very intriguing, although the title didn't fit as well as it could have. It's about the five decision maker personalities, particularly of C-suite folks, and what variations in approach are best for convincing each of them. Very actionable information with good stories backing it up.
Nomad Codes by Erik Davis and Susan Willmarth
Odd book of essays about interacting with various groups of spiritual and semi-spiritual experience. Reasonably interesting stories, but I"m unlikely to pick it up again.
Excel VBA Programming for Dummies by John Walkenbach
I needed to read this to prepare myself for potential aspects of my current temp job. It was actually intriguing, since I learned that the little bit of macro work I'd done barely scratched the surface. It's been awhile since I programmed but now I'm almost tempted to do it for fun. Although I still find a real purpose more motivating. And the book itself was well laid out and even had some embedded humor. I really liked the author's writing style.
Read This Before Our Next Meeting by Al Pittampalli
Fantastic book. I loved the premise that meetings are for decision making (and that brainstorms or conversations are actually separate events.) In my current situation I do find that the daily production meeting is useful, although the author would cast it aside, but I've been in other meeting types which would have been improved if everyone had read this book.
Blood Price, Blood Trail, Blood Debt, Blood Bank, Blood Lines, and Blood Pact by Tanya Huff
I remember having read at least one book of this series in the 90s, but I didn't really remember any plots nor had I seen the TV series they based on it recently. I enjoyed reading the entire series this time around. They were very grounded as vampire/supernatural mysteries go and I enjoyed the idea that the vampire in question was the bastard son of King Henry the VIII.
The World from Rough Stones by Malcolm Macdonald
This wasn't my usual sort of novel, but I found it very engaging. The contrast between the two main couples was used to great effect. The growth of a reputation for success by looking out for opportunity and taking risks was intriguing to see laid out in detail. The story was just good enough to keep me returning even though it felt like it was taking forever to read the novel.
]]>A reread for me, but just as refreshing and interesting the second time around. I haven't mastered the philosophy of collecting bits over time to build better writing, but I'm inclined to give it another try.
The Knowing-Doing Gap by Jeffery Pfeffer and Robert Sutton
Good. Very corporate focused. Not much for an individual. Will keep it for the future though.
Customers for Life by Carl Sewell and Paul B. Brown
I enjoyed the stories from this highly successful car dealer. The principles were familiar, of course, but hearing them couched in real examples always adds a new wrinkle.
Thinkertoys by Michael Michalko
I read it through all the way, although that's not quite the best way to go about it. I should read one section at a time and use and learn. This wonderful collection of innovation/creativity techniques is definitely not leaving my bookshelf.
I'm quite sure I lost a book or two this month, since I waited so long to write them up, which is also why my notes are so terse. Ah, well.
]]>Some of them do so early.
In mid-July my employer was purchased by their main competitor. As part of that process all the US services were moved to the purchaser's facility and the office that I worked out of was closed.
And I was laid off.
What I hated the most was the confusion at the beginning about what was going to happen to the prospects that I had been working with. Were they going to be ignored? Would I get to tell them anything?
I understand the business case of closing the office, although I certainly wish they'd kept me. I'm not thrilled about embarking on a job hunt again, nor the newly arisen financial uncertainty that comes with unemployment. But the idea that all I'd done would be lost and the people abandoned in the middle of one small way they were trying to improve their business, that was what worried me the most.
As it happened, I was able to gracefully hand off my people to an individual who would be handling the business with the purchasing company and also tell the ones I'd had the most contact with myself, by phone and email.
I am grateful I had the opportunity to start out in sales, especially at a job where it was from scratch. Everything I did as an Account Manager I believed that I could do when I went into the job. Now I know, because I've done it, and have proof of my experience.
I've cold-called enough to have gotten over the *ugh* factor that lingered, despite knowing that there were people out there who would be happy to hear from me, if I could just find them. I've set pricing. I've kept records and followed-up and built business relationships and learned for myself the truth of some things I'd read in books.
I even got to work on web copy, although it was never used, make some marketing plans, and send out a letter with samples. And it worked, too, because about half of the VPs and C-suite folks I'd sent it to actually took my call afterwards. I got to have the conversations about business value that I had thought would be fun to do.
There is a lot more I could have done, had there been time.
Perhaps I'll have a chance to at my next position.
I'm focusing my job hunt on technical sales and technical service positions so I develop more customer-facing experience.
I still believe that my greatest source of value is at the space between technical information and business value, because I can see the different perspectives, communicate between them, and take action towards relevant goals.
There are so many places I can do this and I will find one where I am making a difference for my employer and learning for my own sake.
If you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them. Just contact me.
]]>A personal account of a sailor who lived through the Chino-Japanese War. It was short and free on Kindle but worth it as a glimpse into another time.
Murder a la Mode by G.A. McKevett
Fluffy and amusing mystery novel I got for free on Kindle. I enjoyed it, but not enough to pay money for the others about the same crime solvers.
Shaping Space by Paul Zelanski and Mary Pat Fisher
I'd never really read much about sculpture as it was not an art form I spent time on, but this was a great look into the principles of design applied to three dimensions. It was probably a text book at one point, since it had suggested studio exercises included, but it didn't feel like one when I was reading it.
A Passion for Excellence by Nancy Austin and Tom Peters
I loved this book even though its classic predecessor hadn't impressed me. It was densely packed with illustrative stories and ways to implement a range of ideas. I will definitely need to read again.
Headhunter Hiring Secrets by Skip Freeman. Michael Garee, and Michael Little
An interesting and inspiring look at the job market. While it is structured for the person who is actively looking, it's a great read for the person who is not looking but wants to be the kind of employee that has recruiters calling them.
Great Thinkers by James Mannion
A themed collection of somewhat simplistic biographies. Good enough to finish, but that's about it.
Shadow's Son by Jon Sprunk
I bought this from a local author at a convention and had him sign it. I really enjoyed it and intend to keep following the trilogy. I can see why a couple reviewers complained that it contained too many conventions, but there was enough that was different and well done to be well worthwhile.
Dating a Cougar, Dating Dr. Notorious, and Dating a Saint by Donna McDonald
I almost never read romances anymore, although I did back in high school, but the first of these was on my free Kindle books feed and I couldn't resist. They're about men and women from their late thirties through to early fifties. And they were good solid characters who had lived life in various ways. I'm only thirty-four but the idea resonated with me.
The Art of Asking by Terry J. Fadem
This book was very much directed to a manager's role in asking better questions, yet many of the ideas are relevant across the board. They will definitely be worthwhile for any type of individual contributor collaborative position as well. I'll be studying this one again.
The Art of Client Service by Robert Solomon
These short stories of wisdom about being an advertising account agency apply to many service type and consulting type businesses. He points out that there's nothing surprising here, but he intends it as an inspiration and reference for remembering to actually DO it and not just know it.
The Greatest Knight by Elizabeth Chadwick
It was briefly free on Kindle and I picked it up, since I recognized the author. I absolutely loved the story of this complex and successful man in a tulmultuous era of English history. It was only half of William Marshal's life though, so now I need to decide if I'm going to pick up the sequel - Scarlet Lion.
Song of the Beast by Carol Berg
Compelling fantasy novel. The initial mystery is ruined by the Amazon reviews, but I hadn't read them first, so I didn't know it when I started. I'd picked the book up because I knew the author from other works. I appreciated the slow reveal and unfolding of this motivation and that and the human frailty coexisting with strength of the main character. Definitely a keeper for me and the author's web page says it will be re-released in oversized paperback at the end of the year.
Paul of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
Involving and intriguing. I liked seeing into Paul's mind as he was following up in his victory on Dune. I won't be keeping it to reread, but may pick up some more of these non-Frank books at the library. I actually hadn't gotten around to reading any of them before.
Side note: Halfway through the year and I've read 57 books, which is in keeping with the pace of the last two years.
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