Recommended Books
At Dovetail we strive to be at the top of our game and so we are constantly expanding our knowledge by researching and reading. Here you will find the books that we have read and recommend you read, too.25 Ways to Win with People
By John C Maxwell & Les Parrott
What is 25 Ways to Win with People about?
If You’ve read John Maxwell’s best-selling Winning with People, then you are now ready for some specific action steps to build on the knowledge you gained. 25 Ways to Win With People has just what you need! This complementary companion to the full-sized book is ideal for a quick refresher course on interpersonal relationships.
A small sampling of the twenty-five specific actions readers can take to build positive, healthy relationships includes:
Available at www.kalahari.net
Be a Sales Superstar: 21 Great Ways to Sell More, Faster, Easier in Tough Markets
Brian Tracy
What is Be a Sales Superstar about?
Learn how to get more and better appointments, make more effective presentations, overcome objections, deal with price concerns and close the sale. Brian will explain 21 Keys to Performance Selling such as:
Available at www.kalahari.net
Eat That Frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time
By Brian Tracy
What is Eat That Frog about?
Brian Tracy is a management/personal development speaker. Eat That Frog is a simple method to prioritize your work. Simply put, evaluate what needs to be done, prioritize, and then don't stop till you finish the most important one.
Available at www.kalahari.net
How to Become a Great Boss: The Rules for Getting and Keeping the Best Employees
By Jeffrey J. Fox
What is How to Become a Great Boss about?
Did you ever have a great boss? Everyone should have one, but not enough people do. If you’re a boss, or hope to become one, or have a less-than-great boss, then this is the book that could change your career-and your life.
In times like these, being a great boss can be harder than ever. If you want surprising and useful advice on how to handle the tough stuff -- from having to fire a long-time employee to being a new boss with a demoralized team -- the stories, observations, and advice contained in this gem of a book will set your feet in the right direction. And if you just want advice on living up to the legend who preceded you in the job, or even ways to emulate someone who was a great boss to you, Jeffrey Fox has gathered anecdotes from some of the mightiest and most respected bosses in America. The bestselling author who brought you How to Become CEO and How to Become a Rainmaker knows the territory about which he speaks.
Fox is the master of the counterintuitive angle. For every boss who has implied “I know what’s best, that’s why I’m the boss,” Fox counsels, “Listen to Phonies, Fools, and Frauds” and “Don’t Check Expense Accounts.” His stories from bosses who have cared equally for employees’ lives and the bottom line will inspire you to see that profit counts, but so do camaraderie, motivation, and a great place to work.
In a time of considerable corporate downsizing, it’s more important than ever for bosses to surround themselves with motivated employees
Available at www.kalahari.net
Life’s A Pitch
By Roger Mavity & Stephen Bayley
What is Life’s A Pitch about?
Life’s a Pitch is the ultimate how-to book-a mixture of mechanics and magic. Nothing like it has been written before. A mixture of mentoring, graphics, anthropology, market research and modern Machiavellianism, this book is a preparation for success. So whether at a sales conference in corporate conference room hell or over lunch at a glamorous meeting, it’s a drama. It is business, but it’s also theatre. It’s not about transferring information; it’s about transferring power. And the results of a successful pitch are - quite simply - money and power.
Part inspirational manual for business, part guidebook to a successful and happy social life, Life’s a Pitch is an accumulation of half-century of (mostly successful) pitching wisdom by the authors. Groundbreaking and genre-busting, it will transform forever how we think about the art of persuasion.
Available at www.kalahari.net
Peaks and Valleys: Making Good and Bad Times Work for You - at Work and in Life
By Spencer Johnson
What is Peaks and Valleys about?
Peaks and Valleys is a story of a young man who lives unhappily in a valley until he meets an old man who lives on a peak, and it changes his work and life forever.
Initially, the young man does not realize he is talking with one of the most peaceful and successful people in the world. However, through a series of conversations and experiences that occur up on peaks and down in valleys, the young man comes to make some startling discoveries.
Eventually, he comes to understand how he can use the old man’s remarkable principles and practical tools in good and bad times and becomes more calm and successful himself.
Now you can take a similar journey through the story and use what you find to your advantage in your own work and life.
Available at www.kalahari.net
Personality Plus: How to Understand Others by Understanding Yourself
By Florence Littauer
What is Personality Plus about?
Each of the following statements relates to one of the four basic personality types: Melancholy, Phlegmatic, Sanguine, and Choleric. Which of these statements do you relate to most? - Whether at home or work, I am well organized and keep everything in its proper place. - It’s difficult for me to express excitement, even about something that’s really important to me. - When shopping at the mall, it’s not unusual for me to forget where I parked the car. - I get annoyed when my employees don’t follow my instructions to the letter. In Personality Plus, Florence Littauer gives you valuable insight for appreciating your one-of-a-kind, God-given personality. She includes a Personality Profile test that reveals how your unique blend of traits affects your emotions, work performance, and relationships. Through humorous anecdotes and straightforward counsel, Personality Plus guides you to improve upon your strengths and correct your weaknesses. This engaging book also provides keys to understanding those around you. You’ll learn how to accept-and even enjoy-the traits that make each of us so different. Personality Plus is the tool you need to change your life, and the lives of those you care about, for the better.
Available at www.kalahari.net
The 17 indisputable Laws of Teamwork: Embrace Them and Empower Your Team
By John C. Maxwell
What is The 17 indisputable Laws of Teamwork about?
Building and maintaining a successful team is no simple task. Even people who have taken their teams to the highest level in their field have difficulty recreating what accounted for their successes. Is it a strong work ethic? Is it chemistry? What tools can you wrap your hands around to build or rebuild your team?
John C. Maxwell shares the vital principles of team building that are necessary for success in your business, family, church, or organization.
Available at www.kalahari.net
The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You
By John C. Maxwell
What is The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership about?
Principles are laws that apply across different cultures, generations, and circumstances. John Maxwell, drawing lessons from his own experiences as well as those of other leaders’, has discovered 21 principles for leadership.
In each chapter of the book, Maxwell describes each law as a tool that can help people succeed in business, church, sports, and personal endeavors. Anyone in any position, in any field, and in any culture, can learn and practice these laws to become a successful leader. The learning is made richer by real life illustrations that show how the laws are practiced or violated.
Available at www.kalahari.net
The Fred Factor: How passion in your work and life can turn the ordinary into the extraordinary
By Mark Sanborn
What is the Fred Factor about?
In his powerful new book The Fred Factor, motivational speaker Mark Sanborn recounts the true story of Fred, the mail carrier who passionately loves his job and who genuinely cares about the people he serves. Because of that, he is constantly going the extra mile handling the mail - and sometimes watching over the houses - of the people on his route, treating everyone he meets as a friend. Where others might see delivering mail as monotonous drudgery, Fred sees an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of those he serves.
We’ve all encountered people like Fred in our lives. In The Fred Factor, Mark Sanborn illuminates the simple steps each of us can take to transform our own lives from the ordinary - into the extraordinary. Sanborn, through stories about Fred and others like him, reveals the four basic principles that will help us bring fresh energy and creativity to our life and work: how to make a real difference everyday, how to become more successful by building strong relationships, how to create real value for others without spending a penny, and how to constantly reinvent yourself
By following these principles, and by learning from and teaching other “Freds,” you, too, can excel in your career and make your life extraordinary. As Mark Sanborn makes clear, each of us has the potential be a Fred. The Fred Factor shows you how.
Available at www.amazon.com
The One Minute Manager
By Ken Blanchard & Spencer Johnson
What is The One Minute Manager about?
A book of timeless truths that started a management revolution! 13 million copies sold worldwide, and 10,000 copies still selling every month make it one of the best-selling management books in history.
For over twenty years, thousands of top managers and Fortune 500 companies nationwide have followed this book’s techniques, thereby increasing productivity, job satisfaction, and personal prosperity. These very real results were achieved through learning management techniques that spell profitability for the organization and its employees.
The One Minute Manager is a concise, easily read story demonstrating three very practical management techniques. The story unfolds to reveal several studies in medicine and the behavioral sciences that explain clearly why these apparently simple methods work so well with so many people. By the book’ss end you will know how to apply them to your own situation.
Available at www.kalahari.net
The Richest Man in Babylon
By George S. Clason
What is The Richest Man in Babylon about?
The Multi-Million Copy Bestselling Classic
Based on the famous “Babylonian principles,” it’s been hailed as the greatest of all inspirational works on the subject of thrift and financial planning.
Achieve personal wealth…
This celebrated bestseller offers an understanding of-and a solution to-personal money problems. This is the original classic that reveals the secrets to acquiring money, keeping money, and making money earn even more money. Simply put: the original money-management favorite is back!
Available at www.kalahari.net
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
By Malcom Gladwell
What is The Tipping Point about?
It’s a book about change. In particular, it’s a book that presents a new way of understanding why change so often happens as quickly and as unexpectedly as it does. For example, why did crime drop so dramatically in New York City in the mid-1990’s? How does a novel written by an unknown author end up as national bestseller? Why do teens smoke in greater and greater numbers, when every single person in the country knows that cigarettes kill? Why is word-of-mouth so powerful? What makes TV shows like Sesame Street so good at teaching kids how to read? I think the answer to all those questions is the same. It’s that ideas and behavior and messages and products sometimes behave just like outbreaks of infectious disease. They are social epidemics. The Tipping Point is an examination of the social epidemics that surround us.
Available at www.kalahari.net
The Truth about You: Your Secret To Success
By Marcus Buckingham
What is The Truth about You about?
The Truth About You, a radically innovative and interactive product that will shift the way you think about your life and direct you to the successful lifestyle meant just for you. Marcus challenges much of what you’ve been taught and empowers you to enjoy higher satisfaction and performance in life and work. You will find true career direction, capitalize on your uniqueness, and create a work life that plays to your strengths.
The Truth About You is perfect for personal use and as a job placement and performance review tool. Its concise format serves as a resource for HR and business leaders to acquire and retain employees, and help them develop a work life that plays to their strengths.
Available at www.kalahari.net
Raving Fans: A Revolutionary Approach To Customer Service
By Ken Blanchard & Sheldon Bowles
What is Raving Fans about?
Ken Blanchard, author of The One Minute Manager and Sheldon Bowles assert that customers have long been neglected and abused by companies that they have developed very low expectations. Despite unfulfilled promises from companies, cold treatment from staff, long waits, and delayed return calls by customer service desks, customers rarely complain and keep coming back to your business, provided your competitors are not doing any better than you.
What businesses need are not “satisfied” customers who will do business with you only until a better competitor comes along. To convert satisfied customers to “raving fans” for your business, you have to decide what you want your company to be, discover your client’s needs and deliver consistently on your promises.
Available at www.kalahari.net
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