By Rolf Crocker

I trust all is well in your world.  ‘Your world’ is a Term of Art – your realm, your domain, your sphere of influence – the world in which you live and work and love and strive to make a difference.  Is it working for you?  Are you re-investing capital into that singularly unique company that Tom Peters calls ‘You, Inc.’?  The old adage, ‘You gotta spend money to make money’ is equally apropos in virtually ANY venue in which an ‘investment’ of sorts is required.  I’m thinking of the following phrase in particular - You have to take time to make time.  In an industry in which busyness is the rule rather than the exception and Crisis Management is management on a good day, you have to make time - no, you need to fight, scratch, kick and claw for the time to invest in yourself.  Time to think about where you’ve been, what you’ve done, what’s ahead and how you’re going to get there.  No one is going to help you out on this one…well, almost no one.  Dave Anderson has written a book reviewed below that will give you 100s of tips - practical, ready-to-use advice on how to fix, stretch and build your organization.  Whether you are the owner of a large firm or the Rockstar CEO of You Inc., this book will spark ideas, encourage you, spank you and, most importantly, help you to be your best in ‘your world’.

Up Your Business! by Dave Anderson (©2003 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.)  The subtitle of this tome (they ALL seem to have a subtitle!) is ‘7 Steps to Fix, Build or Stretch Your Organization’.  While it has the ring of a ‘tips and tricks’ book, it really is ultimately about timeless leadership principles applied in a non-sugarcoated, politically incorrect and irreverent style.  With chapter titles like, “Always Remember, ‘It’s The People, Stupid!’”, “Abolish Corporate Welfare: Create a Culture of Merit” and “It’s Alright to Aim High if You Have Plenty of Ammo”, it’s hard to go wrong!  Interspersed throughout the book are ‘Up Your Business! Bullets’ that separate and stress key points in each chapter, such as “As desperation rises, standards fall’ and ‘Getting better is a life’s work.  It’s a daily thing, not a destination thing.’  In chapter 5, Dave outlines his ‘Executing Your Leadership Twelve-Pack’ which addresses issues such as Defining and Enforcing Standards, Leading from the Front and Rattling the Status Quo.  In chapter 6, Dave tells you how to ‘Survive Success’, then teaches you how to ‘Build Long-Term Vitality’ in your organization in chapter 7.  While it’s a little light in how to develop your core values and philosophy, it more than excels in how-to, practical, applicable advice. One of Dave’s final bullets says it best, “Nothing silences cynics like success”.  Like the old proverb, ‘Let not the one who says it cannot be done stand in the way of the one that is doing it.’ - How true it is!  Forward by John Maxwell.   4 Stars!