Newest Business and Finance Reviews
Fans Not Customers: How to create growth companies in a no growth world by Vernon Hill
Vernon Hill is the man behind Metro Bank in the UK, the founder of Commerce Bank in the US and the holder of the North American franchise of PetPlan. When Metro Bank opened in the UK in July 2010 I remember wondering if the world really needed another Bank and the truth was that it didn't need another Bank-just-like-every-other-Bank-you've-encountered, but it did need a fresh approach to the business and a sweeping away of all the old rules and prejudices. Hill had proved that it could be done with Commerce Bank and in the last two years he's made a similar impact with Metro. Full review...
The Unprincipled: The Unvarnished Truth About Running a Marketing Agency - from Start-up to Sell-out by David Croydon
In 1985 David Croydon and a couple of his colleagues were in employment but they were spending some of the working hours setting up their own company which would be in competition with their current employers. All's fair in love and the world of sales promotion and Marketing Principles was born the following year. The title of the book is taken from the in-house newsletter published twice a year by their creative department to debunk anyone who worked for the agency and judging by what David Croydon has to say they must have had a lot of material to choose from. If I had to pick one word to describe this book it's scurrilous, so if the title of the book suggests that the content might be rather dry, then think again. Full review...
Getting To Yes by Roger Fisher and William Ury
Negotiation is a tough thing, but given how often we do it (for many people, there are things to negotiate on a daily basis) you’d think we’d be better at it. This book starts with the line Like it or not, you are a negotiator and that’s the bare truth of it. Full review...
Lessons from the Top: How Successful Leaders Tell Stories to Get Ahead - And Stay There by Gavin Esler
As a journalist and broadcaster, Gavin Esler has interviewed everyone from Bill Clinton to Angelina Jolie, and now he’s taking what he’s learned from those chats to bring us Lessons from the top…how successful leaders tell stories to get ahead – and stay there. Full review...
What to Do When You Win the Lottery by Cathy Bussey
You might wonder quite why someone who doesn't play the lottery is reading a book called What to Do When You Win the Lottery. Well, the answer is simple: it struck me that winning the lottery was not the only way in which people were likely to come into a large sum of money - there are other forms of gambling, inheritance or even redundancy, to name but a few. My inner money person mentioned that most people think that coming into money is the answer to all their problems without realising that it needs active management just like any other life-changing event. Full review...
How to Publish your own eBook by Nik Rawlinson
At a time when many authors, even those with a history of good books to their credit, are struggling to find traditional publishers we've seen the explosion of self-publishing, led by the emergence of the ereader. Trees no longer need to fall before your book can be made available to the public - and nor need you find an agent who would hopefully find you a publisher. If you've written a book it could be on sale within a matter of days. There are, of course, hoops which you will need to jump through and Magbooks have come up with some information to smooth your path. It's part magazine (with some, but not too much, advertising) and part book and a short read at 114 pages. It's heralded as 'the step-by-step guide to writing, publishing and profiting from your own eBook' - but how does it live up to the claim? Full review...
Free Lunch - Easily Digestible Economics by David Smith
Reading David Smith's new book Free Lunch brought to mind an episode of the Freakonomics podcast broadcast earlier this year. In it, listeners were first asked to imagine that the interest rate on their bank account was 1% per year and the rate of inflation was 2% per year. In a year's time would they be able to buy more, buy about the same or buy less using money from that account? Full review...
Killer Stuff and Tons of Money by Maureen Stanton
For some time the bookshelves in the high street have been awash with titles on identifying, valuing and trading in antiques. This is nothing like that. It is basically an account in which the author, a university lecturer in creative non-fiction, shadows dealer Curt Avery as he travels in pursuit of buying and selling antiques across America, setting up his stall or visiting auctions. As he does so he tells her about the pros and cons, the lucky finds and the pitfalls, and what motivates people like him as he seeks to make a living in a precarious but fascinating profession where every day might bring forth some wonderful new (or old) discovery. Before continuing any further, I should stress that this is written very much from an American perspective, so some mental adjustment is required for any reader who has been introduced to the subject by ‘Antiques Roadshow’ and similar other British TV series. Full review...
Britain for Sale by Alex Brummer
Buy British, we're constantly told, and many people do - the French, the Germans, Qataris, Chinese... If you want to buy British you'd be hard pressed to use a British electricity company, the people shifting North Sea oil to you might be foreign, the trains near you may be foreign-operated, and so much of what's in the shops you buy from would of coursed be sourced from abroad, and shipped through foreign-owned ports. Whether or not the country is going to hell in a handcart, it's moving in piecemeal stages to exterior business interests, and the British citizen gets the worst of the deal. Full review...
The Economist Book of Business Quotations by Bill Ridgers (Editor)
It's not so much a book of business quotations as a book of business aphorisms. There's a prime example on the dust cover: J Paul Getty's 'My formula for success? Rise early, work late, strike oil.' It's arranged alphabetically by subject matter from Accountants and Accountancy ('Budget: a mathematical confirmation of your suspicions' A A Latimer) through to Work-Life Balance ('For fast-acting relief, try slowing down.' Lily Tomlin). Most entries are short and pithy and few run to as much as half a page. Full review...
Great Britain Concise Stamp Catalogue 2012 by Hugh Jefferies
Now in its 27th year of publication, the Great Britain Concise Catalogue provides a comprehensive listing of all issues from the 1d black and 2d blue of May 1840 to the Children’s Comics issue of 20 March 2012. As a halfway house between the very basic ‘Collect British Stamps’ and the multi-volume specialised edition, this lists the main variations of each issue, alongside miniature sheets, special first day of issue postmarks, postage dues, booklets, and the regional issues from Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, as well as the Channel Islands and Isle of Man prior to their postal independence in 1969 and 1973 respectively. Full review...
Daily Mail Tax Guide 2012/2013 by Jane Vass
In its annual report H M Revenue and Customs announced that it will shed many more staff by the year 2015 so it's now more important than ever to ensure that you are paying the right amount of tax and that you are claiming all the allowances and reliefs to which you are entitled. I spent most of my working life in HMRC and the dedication and professionalism of the staff is second to none but when resources are spread more thinly it's difficult to say that something will not give. You can, of course, go to the HMRC site where you will find a lot of help and information - and it's free. You might wonder then, why you should buy a book which, on the face of it, does the same job? Full review...
Merchants of Culture: The Publishing Business in the Twenty-First Century by John B Thompson
The publishing industry has been with us since the fifteenth century, but the major changes have manifested themselves in the twenty-first century and John B Thompson, Professor of Sociology at the University of Cambridge, has taken a detailed look at the state of trade publishing (that's the type of book you're likely to find in your local library or bookshop), the influences which have brought it to that state and the outlook. This might sound rather dry but, trust me, it's not. It wasn't a fast read, but only because there were so many things to think about, prejudices to readjust and information to absorb. I read it over a week - and for a reviewer that's a rare luxury. Full review...
Are You Smart Enough To Work At Google? by William Poundstone
I find recruitment fascinating. I started my career on a top 10 graduate scheme whose recruitment process included a 24 hour simulation of life in the role, and now some years later I'm on the other side of the table, taking part in the recruitment of the next generation. Prior to that I worked everywhere from multinational software companies to British high street department stores and over the years I've heard everything from the boring (What are your strengths and weaknesses?) to the predictable (Tell me about a time you worked as part of a team and encountered conflict) to the quite frankly brilliant, in my mind (How many piano tuners are there in Barcelona?) Once I had to come up with a variety of uses for a cocktail shaker after first gaining points for being able to identify the item correctly, despite being a tee-total teen at the time. If interviews are a time to shine, I prefer the latter two tasks to the first two because they let you show what you can do, and how you would approach a task, rather than just making you prattle off a prepared response. Full review...
The Start-up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career by Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha
In decades gone by, educated workers in many industries could view their careers as an elevator – rising through the ranks of a company before stepping aside and settling into a comfortable retirement. In today's vastly different job market, with much less loyalty from both employers and employees, your career is more likely to follow the model of some promotions mixed in with frequent sideways moves to other companies and perhaps even completely different industries. Time, then, for a new guide to how to handle your employment prospects. Full review...
Demystifying the Chinese Economy by Justin Yifu Lin
The success of the Chinese economy, and as Lin makes us aware, a success which contrasts strongly with what appeared major failure in the recent historical past, is something which needs explanation. No one can ignore it, and we are confronted with the effects of it from the ownership of Thames water to the faces of tourists in London and Stratford on a daily basis. And in the roots of its success are the potential seeds of future change, a change that now more than ever is crucial to the way the world economy works. Full review...
Leadership Rules by Jo Owen
Owen's latest addition to the management self-help canon is subtitled 50 Timeless Lessons for Leaders. Fifty lessons in under 250 pages? You have to know that the genuine newness of the insights might be on the disappointing side of fabulous. That's not to completely write off Leadership Rules. I enjoyed reading it. Given its structure of short sharp snipes which might be aimed at the dip-in-and-out brigade, I can also say that it reads well as a sit-down-and-consider book. Full review...
Treasure Islands: Tax Havens and the Men who Stole the World by Nicholas Shaxson
Most people think about the subject of tax havens - if they need to think about them at all - as something which is unlikely ever to concern them and that they're for the super-rich and celebrities. What might surprise them is that more than half of world trade as well as most international lending is routed through them and that many common items in your everyday shopping will come to you via a tax haven. And we really should be thinking about them because tax havens are ensuring that wealth in unprecedented amounts is being transferred from the poor to the rich - greatly exceeding the aid which flows in the opposite direction. Full review...
Secrets of Success in Brand Licensing by Andrew Levy, Judy Bartkowiak
Brand licensing is a huge business, with the annual worth estimated at 150 billion USD. It's hard to avoid Hello Kitty, Thomas the Tank Engine, Peppa Pig or Dr Who. One sometimes wonders if it's even possible to buy non-character pyjamas for a six year old. It's not just kids' brands, either (though these dominate the lucrative licensing market). From socialites (Paris Hilton) to actors and pop stars (Hale Berry, Britney Spears), football clubs and individual footballers (Beckham, Pele), magazines (Playboy, National Geographic), TV series (Simpsons) and pure graphic design (Smiley, Hello Kitty), brand licensing and brand extensions surround us on a scale unprecedented in human history. Full review...
The End of Growth by Richard Heinberg
With the newspapers full of economic doom and gloom the last thing you might want is to pick up a book that reiterates it and then some. But while this book may seem at first glance to be a bit of a downer, it also provides an insight into how things might just work out ok in the end. Yes, they’ll be some big changes – there have to be because the direction we’ve been heading in is just not sustainable – but if we’re willing to adapt, we will survive was the main message I picked up as I flicked through the pages. Full review...
Safe As Houses? A Historical Analysis of Property Prices by Neil Monnery
Neil Monnery was asked to become a trustee of a local charity with most of its assets in local residential property. Over the years this had yielded good results and the charity was concerned as to whether or not they should continue on the same basis or diversify and Monnery said that he would look into this. That discussion was the genesis for this book as he began to research the history of house prices – in the UK and elsewhere – for as far back as he could go to establish whether or not house were, well, as safe as houses. Full review...
Start It Up: Why Running Your Own Business is Easier Than You Think by Luke Johnson
Luke Johnson is one of our busiest tycoons, with a personal fortune which runs into nine figures. He's been the driving force behind Pizza Express and Channel 4 and has a renowned column in the 'Financial Times'. He's done all this over a couple of decades, so he obviously knows what the score is in terms of getting businesses up and running – and then turning a profit. So, 'Start It Up: Why Running Your Own Business is Easier Than You Think' is going to be perfect for my friends Mr and Mrs Cook, who want to open a restaurant, Mr Plumb, who's been havering about splitting from the builder who employs him and Miss Baker who think that our prosperous village is ripe for an artisan bread shop? Well, perhaps… Full review...
Pocket World in Figures 2012 by The Economist
There are some books which it's very difficult to review and Pocket World in Figures 2012 is a perfect example. Each year The Economist completely updates all the figures and reissues them in a format which, even if it won't fit into every pocket, is certainly going to be no problem in a briefcase or readily available in a desk drawer. And it is the type of book which you're going to want to have readily available. It's not a reference book to have tucked away on a shelf – once you find that it is superbly easy to use you're going to want to have it to hand. The problem is that the book is a very similar format every year, just as essential as the year before and still the book which it's unwise to loan to anyone as there's a strong chance it won't return. Full review...
Swimming in the Steno Pool: A Retro Guide to Making It in the Office by Lynn Peril
The subtitle of this book suggests a survival guide to secretarial work. However, this is definitely not a handbook, but an examination of the portrayal of the job and those who do it in the media and in handbooks over the last 100 years. It is an American book and all the references are to handbooks, media, popular fiction and advertising from the US, but as a secretary in Britain, I still found it relevant, interesting and very entertaining. Full review...
Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue 2012: Commonwealth and Empire Stamps 1840 - 1970 by Hugh Jefferies
Each edition of the 'Gibbons Commonwealth' catalogue of the sterling era, which covers the era of pounds, shillings and pence up to the end of 1970 with a few exceptions, sees several changes. The 114th edition is no exception. Reflecting market trends and demand during the previous few months, many price increases affecting almost all areas and periods have been made, including the more modestly priced items as well as some of the 'blue chip' pieces. One of the latter now makes history, as following the recent sale of an 1847 'Post Office' Mauritius 2d blue, this and its 1d red partner become the first stamps in the Gibbons catalogue to be priced at £1,000,000 or more. As we are told in a note underneath the listing, most known surviving examples are now in permanent museum collections. Full review...
The Filter Bubble: What the Internet is Hiding from You by Eli Pariser
In a world where websites are increasingly personalised, and your Facebook profile seems to pop up left, right and centre on sites you're visiting for the first time, there's a rapidly shrinking amount of webpages where your experience is the same as the next person's. Having always ignored Google's targetted adverts, I naively thought the actual search results produced by the site were one of the few places where I'd see the same thing as a random user in, say, Australia did. Eli Pariser shatters this myth immediately in his book as he tells us about the fifty-seven signals Google uses to build on the company's knowledge of us and choose which results to show us. Full review...
Stanley Gibbons Great Britain Concise Stamp Catalogue 2011 by Hugh Jefferies
Such are the complexity, the sheer variety and number of permutations possible of postage stamp issues in the 21st century, that any catalogue compiler is faced with an almost impossible task. Producing a genuinely concise book is largely a matter of what to include and what to leave out. Full review...
Daily Mail Tax Guide 2011/2012 by Jane Vass
H M Revenue and Customs is now bigger than ever – it's taken on more work – but at the same time it's having to shed staff, many of them being the ones with experience and inevitably something will have to give. In the light of this the author rightly concludes that it's now more important than ever to keep a close eye on your tax affairs. Don't assume for example that your PAYE coding is correct. Full review...
Polar Bear Pirates and Their Quest to Engage the Sleepwalkers: Motivate Everyday People to Deliver Extraordinary Results by Adrian Webster
I'd like to introduce you to the polar bear pirates. They're the people who believe in life before death – the people who can deliver extraordinary results despite being just ordinary people like you and me. Well, me anyway. They're the manager who can motivate their staff to achieve those extraordinary results – even if their staff are sleepwalkers who live on planet complacency, amps or vamps. We won't mention the potholers. This is a management book like no other – you're going to laugh, cry just occasionally when you realise that you've been seen through and come away with plenty to think about. Full review...
Going Mental: Reaching Your Goals in Business and Sports - Full Contact NLP Coaching from a Full Contact Fighter by Jakob Lovstad
Some books seem determined to put you off. Unless it's literary fiction 'Going Mental' suggests something that I've gone to great lengths to avoid. The man on the cover is bald, bloodied and apparently screaming. I've been avoiding men like that too. '…not for the soft and sensitive!' it says and whilst I wouldn't describe myself as either I do wonder whether allowing Jakob Lovstad to mess with my head is the wisest thing I've ever done. When I realise that he's a cage fighter I'm ready to run. What has that got to do with my business? Because that's what this book is about – reaching your goals in business and sports. Full review...
Obliquity: Why Our Goals are Best Achieved Indirectly by John Kay
Sometimes the shortest route to a destination isn't the quickest way to get there. Take crossing central America for example. Instinctively, you think that the best way to navigate your way from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific is to travel directly from east to west. It may seem counter intuitive but the designers of the Panama Canal realised that the easiest way to make the journey was in fact to use a thin strip of land and then go in seemingly the wrong direction from west to east. Architects and cartographers found that the obvious route wasn't the best way to solve the problem put in front of them. An indirect or oblique approach would prove to be far more successful. That in a nutshell is noted economist John Kay's concept of obliquity. Full review...
