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Business and Personal FinanceOctober 2015
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"A small business lives or dies on cash." ~ from Paul Downs' Boss Life
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| Boss Life: Surviving My Own Small Business by Paul DownsPaul Downs started his custom furniture business right out of college, and hired his first employee a year later. That was just the beginning of his education -- on hiring and firing, motivating employees, managing cash flow, and everything else that goes along with running a small business. In Boss Life, Downs (who also created the recently ended "You're the Boss" blog at NYTimes.com) shares the sleepless nights and tense conversations that being a boss demands. Plain-spoken and self-aware, Downs offers a useful and candid look at what being a small business owner really entails. |
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| The Type B Manager: Leading Successfully in a Type A World by Victor LipmanNot all managers are hard-charging Type personalities, competitive and demanding. And in fact this book argues that Type B traits -- analytical, communicative, calm, risk averse -- can make for more effective managers. Based on psychological research and filled with anecdotes and case studies, The Type B Manager explains how these types of managers can better motivate and inspire employees. If you enjoyed Susan Cain's Quiet and want to try something similar that's directly applicable to the working world, this is a logical next step. |
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| StandOut 2.0: Assess Your Strengths, Find Your Edge, Win at Work by Marcus BuckinghamBestselling author Marcus Buckingham is best known for First, Break All the Rules and Now, Discover Your Strengths, which popularized the "build your strengths" approach to performance management. With Standout 2.0, which follows a familiar self-help format, he provides a guide to identifying your strengths as well as those of other members of your team, and then building on them to achieve success. Readers who appreciate self-discovery tools will find the online assessment useful; those who skip it will still be able to make use of the advice given for each of nine strength-based roles that Buckingham identifies. |
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| Wealth Secrets of the One Percent: A Modern Manual to Getting Marvelously... by Sam WilkinDon't expect to make yourself rich from the wealth secrets found in this engaging book -- author Sam Wilkin looks to ancient Rome and 19th-century robber barons for their secrets, not to successful, ordinary investors. If you can't be born obscenely rich, Wilkins suggests creating monopolies, preventing competition, and getting in bed with governments. A "subtle, between-the-lines indictment of capitalism" (Kirkus Reviews), Wilkins' book also offers great storytelling. (If you're looking for practical wealth-building strategies, try some of the books below.) |
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Focus on: Recent Books on Personal Finance
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| Smart Money Smart Kids: Raising the Next Generation to Win with Money by Dave Ramsey and Rachel CruzeAs his fans know, Dave Ramsey went bankrupt in his 20s and raised his children to avoid the mistakes he made. Here, he teams up with his daughter Rachel to help other families raise financially savvy kids, including through creating an emergency fund, paying cash for big-ticket items like cars (or college), and using the envelope system he supports for spending, saving, and giving. Much of the text is written by Rachel, who explains exactly how she absorbed his lessons. Like Ramsey's other books, this one contains Biblical references; this shouldn't prevent parents of all faiths (or none) from benefiting from their advice. |
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| The One-Page Financial Plan: The Simple Way to Be Smart about Your Money by Carl RichardsIntimidated by complex spreadsheets or overwhelmed by too much information? This "sensible, sensitive, and smart" (Booklist) financial guide might be the book for you. Beginning with some very basic questions (including "why is money important to you?"), author and certified financial planner Carl Richards encourages identifying personal goals. He then walks readers through a series of focused steps to help create a simple, working financial plan. |
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| Picture Your Prosperity: Smart Money Moves to Turn Your Vision Into Reality by Ellen Rogin and Lisa KuengWhatever your idea of prosperity is (Retiring early? Traveling? Diving into a vault of gold à la Scrooge McDuck?), the authors of this book want to help you achieve it. They start with visualization exercises that can help you figure out what it is you truly want, then outline a seven-step plan for taking control of your finances. Though aimed at women (and offering the success stories of a variety of women), men can also apply their suggestions. |
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| The Thin Green Line: The Money Secrets of the Super Wealthy by Paul SullivanDistinguishing between being rich (having lots of money) and being wealthy (feeling that what you have is adequate for your needs), author Paul Sullivan goes on to explain the differences between the two -- and why being wealthy is preferable to being rich. Consulting with experts to figure out how to achieve wealth, Sullivan offers several useful ideas, including understanding why you make the financial decisions you do, making sure your children are educated, and investing in retirement accounts. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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