by no means comprehensive, but a useful and varied set of checklists, that help get the thought processes going.

I have a hardcopy of this book and was deciding whether to throw it away or throw it away and replace it with the Kindle version. I decided to replace it. (I am converting all 3000 books in my library either to Kindle or the second hand section of Amazon.)I was at first minded to throw it away, influenced by the only other review of this book at the time of my decision. Yes, the book has shortcomings. It covers so much ground that it has to be superficial, and then it is even more superficial than it need be. There are curious gaps, for example project management, which is fundamental to almost all growth in the world economy, is completely omitted. Nonetheless, despite these shortcomings I believe that it is valuable for the practicing manager, contrary to the opinion of the other reviewer. Why? Because this book often gives enough of a grasp of a subject and some key ideas to be useful in practice. The other reviewer says that this book might be useful to business course student but not to a practitioner. I see it the other way around.Here are two reasons why I find the book to be valuable.1. There are many checklists that are useful. For example, in the chapter on asking questions, yes, most of what is said is something that any manager would know. But, in the heat of the moment before going into a key meeting as a facilitator or as a chairman, it can be a very useful checklist because it helps remind you what sort of questions to ask--such as "what are the long term implications?" and "What is the opportunity cost of doing this?" Yes, obvious, if you are thinking along those lines anyway, but if the meeting is focused on short term problems then this kind of checklist may be useful. Which experienced manager has not sat in at least one meeting where had the right question been asked a few hundreds of thousands of dollars in cost would not have been avoided?2. There are memorable and effective examples of key concepts. As it happens, I had no idea what a forcefield analysis is, for example. The section on force field analysis shows a diagram which instantly gave me enough of an idea to be able to understand and use them. The cost to me in time was 3 seconds in this case, now I have a useable concept and tool.In summary, for the ten bucks it costs it is great value. It is not a book that is first rate in its definitions, logic and consistency, but then success in business is not about such things either. It is a useful book for a manager in a hurry.I do recommend to the authors that in the next edition they tighten up on the definitions and examples they give, and have a first class expert go over each key concept."EPICTETUS"

I had not expected much from a 302 content page book that covers 100 techniques in 9 categories of skill. Not disappointed, but neither pleased. The 2 to 3 page for each of those 100 so called techniques are much more keyword/jargon descriptions than anything else. It's acceptable for undergraduates rushing for exam preparation, and for non business graduates who need to throw a jargon or two in their daily working life. However, for those who need a tool book that can really help a reader work better as an executive, please give this book a pass.