BUSINESS BOOKSHELF

A look at what we're reading and recommending right now.

YOUR LAWYER:
AN OWNER’S MANUAL
A Business Owner’s Guide To Managing Your Lawyer
By Henry C. Krasnow, JD
(Agate, $14)

Written for business owners and leaders, this book is a thorough examination of the lawyer/client relationship that provides a wealth of practical information designed to save time, frustration and money, and give readers more control over their relationship with their lawyers. The book is the newest title in the AgatePro line of practical titles for business professionals.

The book seeks to teach readers how to get the most value from their relationships and dealings with attorneys. Good resource. The author is an attorney with four decades of experience helping businesses, and he writes with an insider’s perspective on what business owners need to know about managing this pivotal business relationship.

Become a smarter consumer of legal services and you will get better service. Krasnow had this to say about the question, “What do you believe to be the most common misconceptions among business owners about lawyers and among lawyers about business owners?”

The most common misconception that business owners have about lawyers is that there is a “correct” answer to most legal problems. The fact is that the law is very complicated and often very vague. There are few correct answers. Most often, there are several possible strategies for creating alternatives that will accomplish the business owner’s goal of making money. Unfortunately, when business owners ask for an answer—as opposed to asking for a strategy—they deprive lawyers of the chance to add value. Lawyers offer the most valuable advice when they honestly help their client evaluate those alternatives in an atmosphere of mutual respect and trust. The most common misconception among lawyers concerning business owners is that because the business owners do not understand the subtleties of the law, the business owners may not be as smart as the lawyers.

CUSTOMER SERVICE TRAINING 101
By Renee Evenson
(AMACOM, $21.95)

The professionalism and enthusiasm of your frontline employees reflects directly on your small business. In this book, the author offers an easy-to-read guide that helps you get your employees in shape to handle any situation.

There are interactive lessons that can be adapted for any type of business and for any type of employee trainee. It’s a nice book for biz owners or managers and will help motivate your people and equip them with customer service tools.

The book includes tips and techniques on the following topics: making a good first impression; projecting a positive attitude; communicating effectively through verbal, nonverbal and listening skills; developing trust, establishing rapport, making customers feel valued; confidently handling difficult customers and situations; and interacting effectively face-to-face or over the phone.

If you don’t have the time to create your own comprehensive training program, just pick up this book. Each chapter includes helpful, illustrative anecdotes and a listing of key points. A special bonus section provides useful tips for making the most of training sessions. Handy discussion topics, also included, can be used for helpful follow-up sessions.

The only thing about the book we don’t like is using “101” in the title. It’s over-used and we don’t like the reference to beginning college courses whatsoever. We’ve interviewed hundreds of mega-successful entrepreneurs who never finished high school, let alone set foot in a college classroom and we don’t like the implications and baggage of “101.” For more on the book, visit www.amacombooks.org.

THE DEBT THREAT
By Noreena Hertz
(HarperCollins, $13.95)

Economic globalization has created a planet where corporations—not countries—are often in charge.

Noreena Hertz is recognized as one of the world’s leading experts on economic globalization and in this book looks at the history of third-world debt and its crippling effects on people in developing countries.

The author is the Associate Director for the Centre for International Business at the University of Cambridge and uses her impressive background to offer this probing analysis of the origins of this heavy burden and traces its evolution through the past century and present. The study chronicles power and its misuse by corrupt dictators and reckless lenders.

We love the book; it is extremely important for all world citizens to read right now—particularly important if you have a small business. Hertz relates many provocative tales of “barefaced hypocrisy” that economic globalization has spawned. She writes, “So it is that the world’s poorest countries sink further and further into debt while Western corporations grow fat from government backed projects that fuel conflicts, harm the environment, and have built-in kickbacks. Rather than being a tool for development, ECA funds often serve to feed the vicious cycle of corruption, underdevelopment, conflict, and debt.”

The author has established a debt relief fund for the world’s poorest nations. If you’d like to make a contribution, learn more, or send a message to Washington, visit TheDebtThreat.com.

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