Found 0 posts
Here is Cydcor's review of 'Power Listening' by Bernard Ferrari!
About Power Listening:
Nothing causes bad decisions in organizations as often as poor listening skills. But Bernard Ferrari, adviser to some of the nation's most influential executives, believes that such missteps can be avoided and that the skills and habits of good listening can be developed and mastered. He offers a step-by-step process that will help readers become active listeners that are able to shape and focus any conversation.
Why Cydcor recommends this book to future leaders:
Ferrari claims that in a business setting, good listening is a critically important (albeit strenuous) activity and that one that must be purposeful, under control, and in possession of total focus and engagement.
The author focuses on how to avoid the common pitfalls in conversation, and explains how to correct them if they occur. To actively and empathetically listen is critical in any important interpersonal situation, social or professional.
Learn more about Cydcor by heading to our profile on Bloomberg Businessweek.
Our favorite part:
One of the best parts of this book, and its greatest value, lies in how skillfully Ferrari poses clusters of questions to accomplish two separate but interdependent and immensely important purposes: To sharpen the inquiry skills of his reader (i.e. how to learn what needs to be known) and to provide a context within which his reader can apply those skills.
For example, Ferrari explains that, whenever possible, he avoids interrupting another person unless it is absolutely necessary. And when he does interrupt, "any interruptions or responses I make as questions. If I disagree with a statement, I'll package my disagreement in a probing question." In advance of discussion of key issues, he formulates a few questions that he may need "to guide the conversation into areas that will be more useful for me and [conversation partner]."
The following is a review by a Cydcor team member of 'Money: Master of the Game: Seven Simple Steps to Financial Freedom' by Tony Robbins for Cydcor Reviews!
About Money: Master of the Game: Legendary motivational coach Tony Robbins authors MONEY: Master The Game: Seven Simple Steps to Financial Freedom. This is Robbins’ first book in twenty years, and now he looks to delve into the topic that vexes many: how to secure financial freedom for our families and ourselves.
The book is based on extensive research and on-on-one interviews with more than fifty of the top financial experts in the world—from Warren Buffet and Carl Icahn, to Ray Dalio and even Steve Forbes—Robbins has created a simple seven-step blueprint that anyone can use for financial freedom.
Why Cydcor recommends this book to future leaders: Robbins’ book is useful for readers of every socioeconomic status and provides thorough steps to becoming financially free. Robbins advises readers to create a complete lifetime plan using regular income and savings. His book delivers practical and invaluable information and essential practices for getting your financial situation in order.
For additional info about Cydcor, head over to Cydcor on Hoovers.
Our favorite part: Robbins’ long interview with Carl Icahn, notoriously known for giving sparse and short quotes, is especially inspiring. Icahn, an activist investor, is also one of the few power brokers on Wall Street who looks to take control of poorly operating companies and make those in management accountable for the company’s health as a whole. As a result, he aids businesses by making them more efficient. By reading his interview, you will understand why it’s important to follow the moves this man makes to create a healthy, inspiring company.
Here's Cydcor's review of 'Thinking, Fast and Slow' by Daniel Kahneman!
About Thinking, Fast and Slow: Thinking, Fast and Slow is written by Daniel Kahneman, a renowned psychologist and winner of the Noble Prize in Economics. This book is also the winner of the National Academy of Science Best Book Award in 2012. Kahneman takes us through a tour of the mind and explain the two systems that drive the way we think. He explains the profound effect of cognitive biases on everything from playing the stock market to planning our next vacation—each of these can be understood only by knowing how our minds shape our judgments and decisions.
Why Cydcor recommends this book to future leaders: Thinking, Fast and Slow takes the reader on a very gentle tour during which he or she will see the pitfalls of inner workings of the mind. Kahneman's text is a very fluent page-turner, and without diving into deep and obscure details of academic journals, it gives a very good overview of one of the most important and radical research programs of the 20th century.
Want to learn more about Cydcor? Head over to our CareerBuilder page for additional information!
Our favorite part: Kahneman introduces two mental systems: one is fast and the other slow. Together, they shape our impressions of the world around us and help us make choices. System 1 is largely unconscious and it makes snap judgments based upon our memory of similar events and our emotions. System 2 is painfully slow, and is the process by which we consciously check the facts and think carefully and rationally.
About Zero to One: In this #1 New York Times bestseller, Peter Thiel speaks of the great secret of our time: that there are still uncharted frontiers to explore and new inventions to create. In Zero to One, Thiel shows readers how they can find singular ways to create those new things.
Thiel begins with the contrarian premise that we live in an age of technological stagnation, even if we’re too distracted by television, computers and mobile devices to notice. Information technology has improved rapidly, but there is no reason why progress should be limited to computers or Silicon Valley. Progress can be achieved in any industry or area of business. It comes from the most important skill that every leader must master: learning to think for yourself.
For additional information about Cydcor, check out our profile on CrunchBase!
Why Cydcor recommends it to future leaders: At its core, Zero to One is a refreshing intellectual exploration into motives behind entrepreneurship. It makes the reader ask the hard questions, which if one wishes to be in business or become an entrepreneur, are critical for being honest and prepared for the industry.
Our favorite part: Thiel suggests that the entrepreneurs who stuck with Silicon Valley learned four big lessons from the dot-com crash that still guide business thinking today:
1. Make incremental advances.
2. Stay lean and flexible.
3. Improve on the competition.
4. Focus on products, not sales.
"These lessons have become dogma in the start-up world; those who ignore them are presumed to invite the justified doom visited upon technology in the great crash of 2000. And yet the opposite principles are probably more correct."
Cydcor Reviews has recently reviewed Lean In: Women, Work And the Will to Lead By Sheryl Sandberg With Nell Scovell:
About Lean In: Author Sheryl Sandberg is the chief operating officer of Facebook and is ranked on Fortune’s list of the 50 Most Power Women in Business. She was also recognized as one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People in the World—no small task. It’s safe to say, Sandberg knows the world of business, and offers a unique perspective for women to relate to.
Through personal anecdotes, hard data and compelling research, Sandberg digs deep into women’s roles in business and leadership positions. She discusses her own decisions, mistakes and daily struggles to make the right choices regarding her career, her family and for herself.
Cydcor is on Twitter! Follow us today! https://twitter.com/cydcor
Why Cydcor recommends this book for future leaders: Sandberg gives practical advice on negotiation techniques, mentorship and how to build a satisfying career. While mainly focused on her own perspective as a woman lending advice to other women, it’s hard not to find pieces of her wisdom that men wouldn’t be able to take away.
Written with humor and inspiring calls to actions, Sandberg describes specific steps women can take to combine professional achievement with personal fulfillment, and also describes how men can benefit as well by supporting women in both the workplace and home-life.
Our favorite part: Sandberg is perhaps best known outside of the business realm for her compelling TEDTalk, which she described how women unintentionally hold themselves back in their careers. Her talk has been viewed on YouTube more than a million times and her speech contains core elements of her book. Lean In is designed to change the conversation from what women can’t do to what they can.
Check out the latest video on the Cydcor Sales YouTube Channel: Cydcor Results - Built for Success!
Here is Cydcor's review of The Manager’s Bookshelf : A Mosaic of Contemporary Views by Jon L Pierce and John W Newstrom.
About The Manager’s Bookshelf: This book is aimed towards undergraduate and graduate university students who are majoring in Management or Business. However, it also provides a practical guide to current and aspiring industry professionals outside of a college setting.
The Manager’s Bookshelf is a collection of objective summaries from a broad sampling of bestselling books. Described in the title as “A Mosaic of Contemporary Views,” this book presents readers with a collage of information to improve knowledge of management practices from various sides of business industries. It introduces philosophies, views and experiences from several authors and is compelling read for today’s management community.
Why Cydcor recommends this book to future leaders: This book has had multiple editions, so it has had many revisions to keep it as contemporary as possible. For any aspiring leader, reading the thoughts and ideas of multiple managers and authors shows different styles of high-performing organizations, goals, motivation, empowerment and participation. There is a heavy focus on the value of team members as well as teamwork and managing diversity in the workplace.
These are all “must-knows” for any leader, and serve as great ways to introduce basic concepts in an interesting, multi-viewed angle.
Our favorite part: The fact that the book is compiled using the thoughts and opinions of multiple individuals makes this a great read, and the concept as a whole is our favorite part. It contains a rich array of pieces with a focus on ethics, global perspectives and organizational culture. Reading advice on multiple business aspects from a variety of people is very insightful and will help you determine which approach works best for you.
Cydcor is the worldwide leader in outsourced sales. Join the Cydcor team today!
Here is Cydcor's review of Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty.
About Capital in the Twenty-First Century:
Thomas Piketty is a French economist who shows that modern economic growth and the diffusion of knowledge have allowed us to avoid inequalities. Piketty is arguably the world’s leading expert on income and wealth inequality, and does more than document the growing concentration of income in the hands of a small economic elite. He makes a powerful case that we’re on our way back to “patrimonial capitalism,” in which the commanding heights of the economy are dominated by inherited wealth.
Why Cydcor recommends Capital in the Twenty-First Century to future leaders:
This book is a beast; it’s just over seven hundred pages and has seventy-seven pages dedicated just to endnotes. But despite its length, the book is engaging and, at the moment, Piketty is currently the most talked about economist in the world. His book spans across nations as he analyzes tax records and data from the United States, France, Germany and Japan, among others.
Financial Times and McKinsey have named Capital in the Twenty-First Century their business book of the year. Strategy+Business magazine also named Piketty’s book as one of the best books of 2014. It is backed by remarkably detailed data and analysis, and his historical proofs and economic analysis make a fantastic book, and is a must-read for any business leader to truly understand present-day economics.
Our favorite part:
The most admirable part of Piketty’s book is how he takes tremendously complex data and simplifies it in a way that the layman can understand. Piketty's book is commendable both in its content and its attitude. Its content is straightforward. It is a bold analysis of a tremendous effort by Piketty and other scholars to collect data on income distribution and capital accumulation and distribution over many years and many countries. Whatever one thinks of the analysis, this data collection effort is an important contribution to our knowledge about our modern economy and its history.
Head to Cydcor's SlideShare for business, leadership, and productivity tips!
Here is Cydcor's review of Start with Why by Simon Sinek
About Start with Why: Author Simon Sinek studied leaders all over the word, researching how they thought, worked and communicated. With this information, he wanted to determine how these leaders were alike and different. Drawing upon a wide range of real-life stories, Sinek weaves together a clear vision of what it truly takes to lead and inspire, using such examples as Steve Jobs, Martin Luther King Jr., and the Wright Brothers.
Why Cydcor recommends Start with Why for future leaders: Simon Sinek's Start With Why is a must read for any entrepreneur or leader struggling to create a long-term vision and guiding principles for their company or cause. Sinek’s book helps provide inspiration that one needs to get started in the right direction. He teaches important lessons on what future leaders need to figure out in regards to their company, and why such lessons should be meaningful.
Start with Why provides great insights for developing long-term strategies to combat issues such as price-wars, customer churn and competition. Sinek also talks about how important it is to understand that your product and its features might be replicated by others. He explains that no one can copy your confidence and customer service style or how your clients feel about you and your organization. Those feelings come from intangible values and beliefs that only you share with your customers.
While several moments in the book feel a tad repetitive, it’s an easy read—and sometimes great points need to be repeated to be ingrained into our minds.
Our favorite part: Sinek’s Golden Circle Concept is an interesting notion to help ask us “why?” This line of thinking can be applied to multiple facets in life, whether personal or customer relationships, business decisions or career choices.
Looking to join Cydcor? Head to CareerBuilder to view our latest job openings.
Cydcor is the worldwide leader in outsourced sales services. Follow Cydcor on Pinterest.
November marks the start of the holiday season for many businesses, and there’s no better time than now to begin preparing a holiday strategy. Be sure to take into account that in 2014 there is a shortened selling season, with only 26 shopping days between Thanksgiving and Christmas, so planning is key. Here are some tips to help you boost your online and sales presence during the biggest retailer and sales months of the year.
Research
During the holidays, everyone is vying for attention from potential consumers, so how do you get yourself to stand out from the rest? Start internally, by determining what message you want to send, what products you want to focus on, and what your customers have been interested in in previous years during similar time periods. Are you aware of online social trends? Where do you find the most social engagement, and what hashtags and images are doing the best in your sphere?
Decorate
Decorate your brand with the holiday spirit! Use fall or winter themed cover photos, profile images, backgrounds and the like. A few falling leaves or snow covered logos and images can really refresh your social pages and show customers you are doing proper upkeep on your assets and are on point with trends.
Traditional
A shout-out to a user via Twitter or a tag on Facebook is what’s popular these days and is certainly a quick way to reach out, but don’t undersell the value of the traditional approach. A handwritten holiday card to your key clients or circle figures can go a long way. In such a digital age, don’t neglect the small, personal touches that others can see going above and beyond to reach them.
Head to Cydcor Reviews for reviews of books regarding business, leadership, and productivity.
Here is Cydcor's review of Business @ The Speed of Thought by Bill Gates:
About Business @ The Speed of Thought: Microsoft founder Bill Gates is the author Business @ The Speed of Thought, which focuses on the importance of technology. In the book, Gates shows how technology can help businesses better today and gives predictions on how that technology could transform the nature of business in the future.
Gates speaks to the business managers reading and stresses the importance of viewing new technology as a strategic asset, not as overhead or something to be dismissed. He gives detailed examples from Microsoft and Dell, among other successful companies, who have taken the latest technology and used it to their business advantage.
Why Cydcor recommends this book to future leaders:
Bill Gates is essentially the definition of “successful business person,” and he does a fine job explaining how the new digital age can impact all offices across the world. While the book itself might be more interesting to IT folks, as Gates goes in-depth into technology, he does speak to business strategy. In regards to technology, he doesn’t delve too deeply into the pitfalls and problems that can arise from depending too much on such tech.
However, for those who believe that technology will continue to grow and intertwine with business and those who believe it will play an increasingly significant role in the marketplace, this is a must read.
Our favorite part: Gates provides a 12-step program to implement a “Digital Nervous System,” which is a useful guide to integrating IT with existing business resources. Business @ The Speed of Thought also gives detailed case studies of large companies such as Microsoft and other businesses outside of the tech industry, making the “Digital Nervous System” relevant to a broader audience.
Check out Cydcor's YouTube page for a re-cap of our recent R&R 2014 event in Nassau, Bahamas!
Here is Cydcor's review of Cutting Edge Marketing Analytics: Real World Cases and Data Sets for Hands On Learning by Rajkumar Venkatesan, Paul Farris, and Ronald T. Wilcox:
About Cutting Edge Marketing Analytics: Cutting Edge Marketing Analytics calls itself a practical guide to modern marketing analytics. It looks to introduce today’s most valuable marketing methods and tools by introducing case studies that apply analytic techniques to real problems.
Each chapter of the book provides technical notes that look to show statistical background as well as case studies. All the case studies provided are accompanied by real date and used by the protagonists to make decisions. Methods and tools provided by the author include product analytics, customer analytics, and the effective implementation of such analytics into your business or organization.
The authors look to help people identify the right data and analytic techniques by conducting the analysis and obtaining the insights from those data points. They also look to connect those insights to strategic decision-making.
Head to Cydcor's YouTube page for additional information about the company.
Why Cydcor recommends this to future leaders: This book is an excellent roadmap for managers looking to make the most out of marketing resources. The material presented strikes the right balance of rigorous analysis and strategic relevance.
Our favorite part: Cutting Edge Marketing Analytics takes an excellent look into how the Internet and mobile technologies available have combined to create an unprecedented level of insight into consumer behavior and customer preferences. This mastery of marketing and customer analytics has become the ‘table stakes’ for understanding and pleasing the customer. This is a great book for practitioners looking for real world applications.
Have you checked out Cydcor? Click here to view our Cydcor blog with leadership, business, and sales advice!