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All 9 of My Books

The purpose of 'The Commonsense Entrepreneur' is to provide a self-analysis checklist for entrepreneurs. When it comes to the skills we use (or would like to use) to make a living, many of us are self-taught. Often this leaves holes in our education. Some we're aware of, others, we're not. This book will help ferret out the latter and allow them to be filled in before they cause problems.

While I continue work on the book (due out the first of next year) I'll be posting the odd thought here. Feel free to drop me a line should something catch your eye.

The Commonsense Entrepremeur book cover

100 copies will be available with a CD of suggested listening [1]

Pre-order Pack: $52.50 (includes shipping!)

Book Only: $35 (includes shipping!)

Outline

Here's the very rough draft of the book's outline. Expect changes as the book writes itself.

  1. Introduction
    1. What’s this all about, then?
  2. How People Work
    1. All the psychological stuff that applies to
      1. Yourself
      2. Customers
      3. Employees
      4. Vendors
      5. Competitors
    2. which lays the groundwork, showing the value of
  3. Personal Development
    1. Personal Habits
      1. Ethics
      2. Punctuality
      3. Cleanliness
    2. Dress
    3. Social Skills
      1. Speech
      2. Email
      3. Phone
    4. which contributes to
  4. Getting Things Done
    1. Why reading (well, and often) is a critical business skill
    2. Writing well
    3. Business math and the dangers of innumeracy
    4. Efficiency
    5. Project management
    6. so you can develop
  5. Business Strategy
    1. Marketing
    2. Developing new stuff
    3. Practical application of How People Work
    4. which sees practical application in
  6. Business Operations
    1. Staffing
    2. Managing people
    3. Managing money
    4. leading to the ultimate goal of
  7. Customer Service
    1. Building on the foundation to create an excellent customer experience because that’s the key to it all
    2. So, what now?
  8. Further Resources
    1. References, reading list, general wrap up and threats of further books

Recommended Reading List

Buckingham, Marcus and Coffman, Curt. First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently. Simon & Schuster, 1999.

Carnegie, Dale. How to Win Friends and Influence People. Pocket, 1998.

George, Michael L. Lean Six Sigma for Service: How to Use Lean Speed and Six Sigma Quality to Improve Services and Transactions. McGraw–Hill, 2003.

Getting Real. 37signals, LLC, 2006.

Godin, Seth. All Marketers are Liars: The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low Trust World. Portfolio Hardcover, 2005.

Godin, Seth. The Bootstrapper's Bible: How to Start and Build a Business With a Great Idea and (Almost) No Money. Upstart Pub Co, 1998.

Godin, Seth. The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick). Portfolio Hardcover, 2007.

Godin, Seth. Free Prize Inside: The Next Big Marketing Idea. Portfolio Hardcover, 2004.

Godin, Seth. Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers Into Friends And Friends Into Customers. Simon & Schuster, 1999.

Godin, Seth. Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable. Portfolio Hardcover, 2004.

Godin, Seth. Survival Is Not Enough: Zooming, Evolution and the Future of Your Company. Simon & Schuster, 2002.

Godin, Seth. Unleashing the Idea Virus. Hyperion, 2001.

Molloy, John T. Dress for Success. Grand Central Publishing, 1988.

Paulos, John Allen. Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences. Hill and Wang ,2001.

Peters, Thomas J and Waterman Jr, Robert H. In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America's Best–Run Companies. Harpercollins, 1982.

Strunk Jr, William and White, E B. The Elements of Style. Allyn & Bacon, 1999.

Young, Pam and Jones, Peggy. Sidetracked Home Executives. Grand Central Publishing, 2001.

[1] Each chapter in 'The Commonsense Entrepreneur' will include suggested listening, locations, and libations to enhance your reading and learning experience. I thought it would be fun. Note: although the CDs will be custom made, I respect intellectual property; any music included will be legally purchased. I thought you'd want to know.