Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Top 10 Management Books

There is an old saying that “management is easy, except for the people.” While that statement may be amusing, it definitely contains an element of truth because there is an art to effective management. But sadly, many individuals don't understand how to be good managers, and more often than not, companies don't spend the time to train people to become good managers.

Just think, how often have you been asked or even spent the time to consider:
• How long have you been the manager of a team or department?
• How would you describe your management style?
• How many employees are you directly responsible for?
• What is most important for you to see in the employees that work for you?
• How do you measure the success of your employees?
• Do you mentor your employees?

A quote from “Becoming a Successful Manager” by Jack H. Grossman says it all, “Now you’ve earned your reward: a staff to manage. [But] from now on, your success no longer depends on just your technical abilities and specialized knowledge. You will only prosper if other people do their jobs well.”

Here are some great management books to assist you as you build your management skills and become an effective and inspiring manager!

First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently
By Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman
c. 1999

Now, Discover Your Strengths
By Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton
c. 2001

The First-Time Manager
By Loren B. Belker and Gary S. Topchik
c. 2005

What to Do When You Become the Boss: How New Managers Become Successful Managers
By Bob Selden
c. 2007

Becoming a Successful Manager: How to Make a Smooth Transition from Managing Yourself to Managing Others
By Jack H. Grossman and J. Robert Parkinson
c. 2001

The New Manager’s Handbook: 24 Lessons for Mastering Your New Role
By Morey Stettner
c. 2006

101 Biggest Mistakes Managers Make and How to Avoid Them
By Mary Albright and Clay Carr
c. 1997

Managing
By Henry Mintzberg
c. 2009

The No Complaining Rule: Positive Ways to Deal with Negativity at Work
By Jon Gordon
c. 2008

The Disney Way: Harnessing the Management Secrets of Disney in Your Company
By Bill Capodagli and Lynn Jackson
c. 2006

Lastly, if you would like to avoid new manager mistakes, check out this list of the top 10 common mistakes: http://bit.ly/df05Kk.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Top 10 Website Development and Design Resources

Everyone is online, and that’s great, but how often have you visited a website and thought, “WHAT were they thinking?” Either the company’s mission was hard to understand, the product display was disorganized, links didn’t work, contact details for customer service or tech support were missing, or the site was just ugly. How many times have you visited a website and wondered who created it (the marketing department, the tech department, or the second-cousin of the owner’s wife)?

To assist with your website development and design initiatives, here is a list of my top 10 resources. Enjoy!

70 Website Marketing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
By Raynay Valles
c. 2010

Letting Go of the Words – Writing Web Content that Works
By Janice (Ginny) Redish
c. 2007

Building Findable Websites – Web Standards, SEO, and Beyond
By Aarron Walter
c. 2008
http://buildingfindablewebsites.com/

Web Design and Marketing Solutions for Business Websites
By Kevin Potts
c. 2007

Communicating Design: Developing Web Site Documentation for Design and Planning
By Dan Brown
c. 2006

Neuro Web Design – What Makes Them Click?
By Susan M. Weinschenk, Ph.D.
c. 2009

Content Strategy for the Web
By Kristina Halvorson
c. 2009

The Complete Guide to Affiliate Marketing on the Web
By Bruce C. Brown
c. 2008

Web Analytics 2.0: The Art of Online Accountability and Science of Customer Centricity
By Avinash Kaushik
c. 2009

Website Marketing Association & Annual WebAward Competition
http://www.webmarketingassociation.org/
http://www.webaward.org/