Thursday, July 31, 2008

Doha Round Collapses - Again

Again, the Doha round of negotiation has ended with no resolution.

Developed and developing countries are not able to create a framework to lower trade barriers on agricultural goods.

The result is that world trade will continue to function unevenly through bilateral trade deals and WTO rulings.

For consumers looking for a break on rising food costs - keep looking. Right now, the governments of the world are not looking out for your pocketbooks.

Interestingly, Brazil seems to be a powerhouse in this round of negotiations. Rising commodity prices and over a decade of sound fiscal policy and social investment, have left Brazil with a strong economy and currency and a rising middle class. Because of this, Brazil was able to remain firm on issues important to them.

Focusing on improving your own country seems to make you stronger internationally. Who knew?

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Personal MBA Booklist

The Personal MBA website has published their 2008 reading list. The list is meant to give readers a background in business similar to studying for a MBA.

This list is so popular that the website crashed. I was able to grab a copy and have posted it hear with Amazon.com links for easy browsing.

Enjoy.

General Books

10 Days to Faster Reading

StrengthsFinder 2.0

Lead the Field

The Art of Exceptional Living

Productivity & Effectiveness

The Effective Executive

Getting Things Done

Bit Literacy

The Creative Habit

Path of Least Resistance

The Simplicity Survival Handbook by Bill Jensen

Cut to the Chase by Stuart Levine

The Unwritten Laws of Business by W.J. King

Making Things Happen by Scott Berkun

Results Without Authority by Tom Kendrick

Psychology & Communication

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Crucial Conversations by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler

On Writing Well by William Zinsser

Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds

Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini

Sources of Power: How People Make Decisions by Gary Klein

Secrets of Consulting by Gerald M. Weinberg

Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales

Design & Production

Product Design and Development by Karl Ulrich and Steven Eppinger

The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman

Universal Principles of Design by William Lidwell, Kritina Holden, and Jill Butler

Getting Real by 37signals

The Goal by Eliyahu Goldratt

Lean Thinking by James Womack and Daniel Jones

Marketing, Sales, & Negotiation

All Marketers Are Liars by Seth Godin

Indispensable by Joe Calloway

Getting Everything You Can Out of All You've Got by Jay Abraham

The Sales Bible by Jeffrey Gitomer

The Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes

SPIN Selling by Neil Rackham

Bargaining For Advantage by G. Richard Shell

3-D Negotiation by David A. Lax and James K. Sebenius

Entrepreneurship

The New Business Road Test by John Mullins

Bankable Business Plans by Edward Rogoff

Ready, Fire, Aim by Michael Masterson

The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss

The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki

How to Make Millions with Your Ideas by Dan Kennedy

Getting Started in Consulting by Alan Weiss

Management & Leadership

First, Break All The Rules by Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman

12: The Elements of Great Managing by Rodd Wagner & James Harter

What Got You Here Won't Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith

Growing Great Employees by Erika Andersen

Hiring Smart by Pierre Mornell

Judgment by Noel Tichy & Warren Bennis

The New Leader's 100-Day Action Plan by George Bradt, Jayme Check, & Jorge Pedraza

The Halo Effect by Phil Rosenzweig

The Essential Drucker by Peter F. Drucker

Ethics for the Real World Ronald Howard & Clinton Korver

Strategy & Innovation

Purpose: The Starting Point of Great Companies by Nikos Mourkogiannis

Competitive Strategy by Michael Porter

Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne

Seeing What's Next by Clayton M. Christensen, Erik A. Roth, Scott D. Anthony

Learning from the Future by Liam Fahey & Robert Randall

Innovation and Entrepreneurship by Peter F. Drucker

Myths of Innovation by Scott Berkun

Green to Gold by Daniel Esty & Andrew Winston

Finance & Analysis

Essentials of Accounting (9th Edition) by Robert N. Anthony and Leslie K. Breitner

The McGraw-Hill 36-Hour Course in Finance by Robert A. Cooke

How to Read a Financial Report by John A. Tracy

Turning Numbers Into Knowledge by Jonathan Koomey

Show Me The Numbers by Stephen Few

Marketing Metrics by Paul W. Farris, Neil T. Bendle, Phillip E. Pfeifer, and David J. Reibstein

Web Analytics: An Hour a Day by Avinash Kaushik

The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch

How to Lie with Statistics by Darrell Huff

Personal Finance

Your Money or Your Life by Joel Dominguez & Vicki Robin

The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley & William Danko

The Lazy Person's Guide to Investing by Paul Farrell

The Boglehead's Guide to Investing by Taylor Larimore et al

Work Less, Live More by Bob Clyatt

It's Not About The Money by Brent Kessel

SUPPLEMENT: Business History

Money and Power: The History of Business by Howard Means

Brand New by Nancy F. Koehn

Founders at Work by Jessica Livingston

Citizen Marketers by Ben McConnell & Jackie Huba

The Book of Business Wisdom by Peter Krass

The Book of Leadership Wisdom by Peter Krass

The Book of Management Wisdom by Peter Krass

The Book of Entrepreneurs' Wisdom by Peter Krass

SUPPLEMENT: Business History

Business: The Ultimate Resource from Basic Books

The Streetwise Small Business Book of Lists edited by Gene Marks

Every Manager's Desk Reference from Alpha Books

Finance for the Non-Financial Manager by Gene Siciliano

The Copywriter's Handbook by Robert Bly

Principles of Statistics by M.G. Bulmer

Law 101 by Jay M. Feinman

2008 Business Reference Guide by Tom West