Book Review: Krupp: A History of the Legendary German Firm

A short book review for you today. 

Krupp is a German Company famous for its high quality steel, armaments, appliances and other products.  It is a prototypical German company that follows the German model of higher wages, export led growth, and close cooperation with the government. 

Krupp: A History Of The Legendary German Firm is an informative and easy- to-read history.  German corporations are distinctly different from American ones: they are typically family-owned and prize quality instead of cost saving. A lot of this is made possible by the extreme emphasis on export led growth, and the book is very informative on this point.

Wolf of Wall Street DVD

Our copy here.

Social Interaction Books for Marketing and Advertising

Here are some offbeat subject headings with some very fascinating material for you:

Exchange Theory (sociology)

Social Interaction

Social Groups

Helps you understand group dynamics and human relations.

Use in marketing and understanding human nature in general.

Creativity in Business

Yes, it can be learned. Here's a list of our books on creativity in business.

Frankly, one of the best ways to learn about creativity is by reading a lot of fiction, history, the great books, and experiencing great music and art. You learn so much about connections, human psychology, and the craft of making the imagined real.

Book Review: Francis Fukuyama Trust

Why are some societies more economically successful than others?  It is an age old question and Francis Fukuyama believes the issue is trust.

Find his book here. 

Trust allows larger scale economic enterprises beyond the immediate family.  But how does this occur? Fukuyama argues that large private organizations like guilds or church based civic Associations are key. If the state replaces these organizations, trust withers. Somewhat confusingly the author argues that individual rights taken to an extreme are also to blame. Perhaps the author is suggesting a return to paternalistic corporatism?

Read a review here.

Standard & Poor's Net Advantage

NetAdvantage here.  Research company financials, get stock recommendations, industry analyses and more.

Book Review: The Professional Fence

Book: The Professional Fence by Carl Klockars.

One of the best books about negotiation and small business management I have ever read.

And it's about professional fences - you know, the people that traffic in stolen goods!

Check out the negotiation tactics the fence uses in dealing with the thief. One of my favorite strategies is how the fence will often state something as a fact that is not true. Or how fences conspire to fix prices in the underworld.

You will see these tactics - misstatements, misdirection, intentionally misleading math, apples to oranges comparisons - time and time again in your business dealings even in the law-abiding world.

What about a business model? Check out the book's intro about famed London thief Jonathan Wild and how he organized the London underworld so that all goods would come to him.

Telling ya, check it out.