Finance

"The 18 Immutable Laws of Corporate Reputation" (18 Laws) draws an up-to-date roadmap for (1)establishing a good corporate reputation, (2)maintaining that reputation and (3)repairing a damaged corporate reputation. Starting with the premise that a good reputation is a corporation's most priceless asset, writer Ronald Alsop presents mini case-studies of "lessons learned" from the crises faced by companies and organizations such as Johnson & Johnson, Merrill Lynch, Philip Morris (Altria), and the Roman Catholic Church to explore the benefits of a good reputation, the consequences of a bad reputation and ways to protect good reputations and fix bad ones.

While sticking mostly to the main highways of stategy development and avoiding the gritty back roads of tactical decision making, 18 Laws provides important insights into key principles and strategies for building, maintaining, and fixing corporate reputations. Though it lacks turn-by-turn directions and employs clichés with surprising frequency, this well-researched, well-organized and clearly-written business book is a worthwhile addition to the personal, corporate or PR agency library. C-level executives and corporate communications professionals can benefit in perusing the 18 laws in preparation for the next inevitable corporate crisis or as a strategic reference manual for use as the crisis unfolds.

Alsop is a senior reporter for the Wall Street Journal and I have read many of his stories over the years. I am glad that someone of his caliber has addressed the issue of corporate reputaion at a time when big business ranks about equal to politicians in public perception. Even the mafia is thought to be less sleazy!!

Alsop starts with a basic, uncontestable premise: A corporation's reputation is one of its most valuable assets. This determines how much slack a cynical public will cut it when things start to go wrong. Other assets - such as those that show up on the balance sheet - are carefully measured, tracked and managed. Reputations are not. Not even by so-called excellently managed companies.

Next Alsop lays out various 'laws' to help a company manage its reputation. The first two just talk about how important it is and how important it is to measure it. Then he becomes much more interesting as he starts laying out what a company should do build and maintain a sterling reputation.

He stresses how important it is for a company to 'live' its values and ethics and why being defensive is actually offensive. These could be bromides. What gives them value are Alsop's anecdotes drawn from a lifetime of reporting on business. These well selected stories not only illustrate his points, they also show the reader how to implement his ideas in their own situation. And there are hundreds os such stories.

For example, Alsop talks about how being socially responsible can be an important component of a sterling reputation. And he relates how Timberland does it with a range of initiatives from monitoring labor practices at its contractors' overseas factories to giving its employess the opportunity to do community service on company time. And he doesn't stop there. He tells what dozens of other companies do from Johnson & Johnson to Paul Newman's food company.

These stories and examples are, by far, the best part of the book. This is where the value resides and it is not at all difficult to take each of these examples and suitably modify it to use in your situation.

An excellent book. My one quibble is a philosophical one. I think Alsop is too easy on companies like Altria - the former Phillip Morris. Does having an exemplary ethics code with lots of employee input compensate for the fact that its core product kills when used as intended? You make up your mind on that one. Alsop shows how Altria does a lot of things right in terms of global cultural sensitivity but I would simply not have used such an example.

I found this book highly readable, balanced and full of useful information. It should become a textbook for people in the communications field and for senior executives.

The book is structured so well, with the best practices of companies clearly explained. The author is feisty in his assessment of reputation blunders and shortcomings, but he always turns them into instructive lessons.

Mr. Alsop vividly illustrates each law with detailed examples. I especially enjoyed learning about companies' tactics for dealing with Internet rumors, Merrill Lynch's crisis-management strategies, and the inside story of Philip Morris's name change.

There are also many rankings of companies with the best and worst reputations. And the author has written entertaining short pieces for some of the chapters about famous corporate apologies, the IBM Hall of Shame, and a corporate name change quiz.

Given the state of corporate America's reputation, this book should have a long shelf life.

I recently read "The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork." Although the book has some valid points, it fails to grasp workplace reality from a subordinate team member's perspective and experience. (I was a team-oriented manager for 12 years and then became a team member. I was shocked at how I and other team members were treated by egocentric, domineering, and abusive bosses who weren't team-oriented. Recently, I've seen national surveys that verify that unfortunate reality.)

This book maintains an old-style "us and them" view of teams by assuming that management is mostly competent and benign, and that team members are often the source of problematic behavior. The book does this through such outdated concepts as "the weakest link" and "the bad apple," directed mostly at team members. Ironically, the places I've worked were the opposite: The employees were mostly decent, hard-working people and the managers were mostly incompetent.

This book uses too many back-slapping Forltune 500-type stories as well as sports and war stories to score its points. For example, Enron is cited glowingly as "One of The Best Teams in the World." Anyone who follows business news knows how ridiculous that view is!

The book title and content indicates that these 17 laws are indisputable. Yet, after reading this book, I can say that the title is arrogant; the book is too long on simplistic ideas and bravado, and too short on relevant, real-world understanding that would make a difference for most struggling teams.

This book is like so many others written by those in a management position for years. It lacks the current experience of "in the trenches" subordinate workers to be a credible work. The author even writes in Chapter 11: "I don't have a computer--I don't even know how to use one."

Save your money and take your fellow team members out for coffee. Have a heart-to-heart talk to smooth out your conflicts and problems. That will be a far better investment of your time and money.

In the 17 Indisputable Laws Of Teamwork, John Maxwell focuses on building a winning team using strategies based on interviews with some of the world's top CEO's. It is 265-page self-help type, in which he describes the 17 laws to be used as a guide by individuals in any setting, whether it is business or personal. Maxwell writes the book using simple language trying his best to connect with a large audience.
Maxwell breaks the book into 17 chapters in which each chapter represents a different law. In each, he includes the essentials for teamwork followed by suggestions and how to apply them. In each chapter Maxwell includes two main examples and then several smaller examples related to the topic.
Maxwell starts the book explaining the law of significance and writes that one is too small a number to achieve greatness. He works through every law although some of the 17 are quite obvious. Some are learned at an early age and some are just common sense not only for a "team player," but anyone, in any type of relationship. For example, law number 9 reads: The Law of Countablitly, teammates must be able to count on each other when it counts. This type of common sense information is spread evenly throughout Maxwell's book. Another example of Maxwell's not so unique language is written into law number 8: The Law of the Bad Apple. The subtitle then reads: Rotten attitudes ruin a team. This chapter's main point "Attitudes have the power to lift up or tear down a team," seem too obvious and make the chapter useless and boring.
Maxwell closes the book by explaining that good chemistry cannot occur until all 17 laws or strategies are applied. I feel this book was overall an easy to read guide with good examples and even better suggestions.

In a format that is similar to the "21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership" Maxwell walks us through the essential elements of teamwork. He uses examples from business, ministry, sports and families to bring us principles for building and developing teams. In a style that is true "John Maxwell" he draws interesting and relevant stories from history and from current events to explain the "laws" that he has developed. Maxwell makes great points about how this fits many settings, including a church staff. Here's some examples; - From the "Law of Significance" chapter, "individuals play the game, but teams win championships." If a Sr. Pastor is not leading, each pastor just runs his own area of ministry. Very little communication, interaction, etc. So, it is very much like a professional team that has a lot of players, even great players, yet can't "win the championship" because they are not coached into being a cohesive team. - Under the "Law of the Big Picture" he says, "Members of a team must have mutually beneficial shared goals." Church staff members generally want to serve the Lord, but their understanding and implementation of the church's "mission statement" may NOT coordinated with each other, nor led by the Sr. Pastor. Maxwell goes on to say that the "goal" has to be more important than the "role," meaning the "power of the position." - "All players have a place where they add the most value" is the subtitle of the "Law of the Niche." This seems to be something that many pastors may not understand, but which DOES fit church settings quite well. We can have a great team with lots of potential, but "players" in the wrong "positions." As Maxwell pints out, we will not reach our potential this way. - The "Law of Mt. Everest" says that for each level (of difficulty) that a team reaches, a higher degree of teamwork is required. As a church is growing, they need to know that we don't just need more people, such as adding another pastor, but we need a stronger TEAM! -In the "Law of the Chain" he makes a side comment that "one of the differences between leaders and followers is action." An effective leader must take action. He can't hesitate and avoid "confrontation" SO MUCH that it freezes him. - The "Law of the Compass" says "Vision gives a team focus/direction and confidence." This is a truth that, but if it is not understood by the Sr. Pastor, can cause a staff to wander without the "compass." The leader also shouldn't surprise the team with a "new' (never before announced) direction. Maxwell says, "Great vision precedes great achievement.' - The "Law of Communication" says that teammates have to be constantly talking to each other. We "cannot be effective" if we don't talk regularly. "Interaction fuels action" is how Maxwell put it. True in any setting. - The "Law of the Edge" touched on several things that fit. The difference between failing or struggling teams and truly successful ones is often "the leadership." There are many great advantages to having effective leadership! Maxwell has said that "everything rises and falls on leadership." Finally, one of the things that Maxwell says is that "few people are successful unless a lot of other people want them to be." We can't be successful as loners or disconnected individuals, no matter how great our individual expertise or "potential" is.

John Maxwell has written an easy-to-read, easy-to-apply book on teamwork. Anyone beginning a new team or taking the leadership of a team already in progress is sure to find information from this book helpful and applicable. Beware, however, that Maxwell is beginning to repeat the same stories and lessons from his previous books. These stories and lessons can be good reminders although it may be time for Mr. Maxwell to research other people and companies in the leadership field.

I thought that the book was very easy to read and it's shorter length makes it very accessible to those with very busy lives.

I really enjoyed the little stories and the descriptions of the elements that compose the 17 qualities were very well written. The main thing I enjoyed about the book was not that it taught me a lot of things I didn't know, but that it put those things together in a more coherent picture and made me ask myself some hard questions about how I can be a better team player and whether or not I've neglected some areas.

I find I perform at a much higher level when I keep these sorts of ideas in mind as I plan my tasks. This book is small enough to travel well and profound enough to keep pushing me to higher levels.

Recieved the book and i amenjoying it very much so far it has been very helpful to me would highly recommend to church team players in leadership spots

This very short book can be read in a single sitting. It gives 17 pieces of sound advice for the conservative investor. Much of the advice is fairly obvious to anyone with more than six months of investing experience. Not a book for the daytrader or the system trader.

Short and sweet and full of meat, Richard Rodman's book is divided in 17 brief chapters that give you an incredible financial education. Whimsical illustrations make it fun to read. If you're into building your wealth, don't miss this one! And if you want to promote your business better, get a copy of Shameless Marketing for Brazen Hussies.

A must own. If you only buy one book buy this.

I was gravely disappointed in this book. Most of the advice is common sense. Much of it is contradictory. Item #56 is "Work Overtime" (unpaid!). Item #80 is "Get a Life (After Work)". Item #128 ("Be a Good Corporate Citizen") urges the reader to donate 20+ hours/week to charities approved by the company and the boss. What planet does the author work on? It must be a planet whose rotation about its axis and revolution about its Sun create 750 days a year, with each day having 42 hours. In Item #88, "Make a Generous Donation During Your Company's United Fund-Raising Drive," the author admits to "personally reviewing contributions made by virtually all employees at headquarters." Just how does the author, as top manager, know that an employee with a "low" contribution doesn't have heavy personal obligations, such as the nursing-home or hospice care of aging parents? Does charity not begin at home? Item #164, "Be Generous with the Gifts You Give Your Boss," suggests what would have been career suicide where I worked for 29 years. When I was a boss, I was never offered a gift by an employee. Had I been, I would have refused it with a stern lecture about "influence-purchasing."
The book has no index to the 169 short (1-2 page) chapters; it should.

Mr. Schonberg has explained in very clear, numbered statements, what you can do with just a bit of effort to put yourself in a positive light with your boss. Some of the points may seem to only apply to the executive but most can easily be put into use at any job level. Time is money, don't waste the bosses money by wasting time on the job. Don't badmouth your former employer. Stay current. All easy to do and all simply explained. After all, the sooner you read the book the sooner you can score points with your boss.

+AH4-The title is somewhat misleading in the sense that all the pointers given (usually in the form of one pagers) are also applicable to your employers, coworkers, even personal relationships. A lot of the items are relationship builders, others are tips for improving efficiency, and yet others reminding us that we are all human. Some of the advice may seem trivially obvious, but those are the ones that somehow we forget!

The title is meant to reflect that ultimately a large part of your career+AH4-+AH4- progress depends on your boss and your relationships with him/her. A good advice, but not to be overstated (and the book certainly does not overstate it). Ultimately "there are no shortcuts". This books just provides the tools to make the path a lot smoother. Cheers.+AH4-