Money Back Guaranteed, Anna Tims

ISBN 978-0-85265-146-9

Published by Guardian Books

How to be your own consumer champion

I am a great believer in complaining. And the woman I want next to me when I do so is Anna Tims.

Ms Tims has been writing a consumer rights column in the Guardian for more years than her publisher cares to specify. And the woman knows everything.

Insurance, internet, travel, utilities – she’s fought ‘em all and reveals in 248 pages how you can fight and win against them too. Not to mention taking on retailers, service providers, banks and even the Post Office.

Illustrated with amusing, tragic and downright unbelievable anecdotes from her multitudinous experiences, this is one volume that will stay on my bookshelf and to which I shall frequently refer.

But this is not simply a collection of stories; Ms Tims also dispenses wise words on how to complain successfully and provides no fewer than 60 useful contact names and addresses, ranging from advice bodies through consumer protection services and watchdogs, ombudsmen and regulators to trade associations. If none of those can sort out your problem, you will also find details of the courts service including pursuing a claim online. And to round things off there are four pages detailing laws every consumer needs to know about.

Boat to Boardroom, Alex Alley & Paula Reid

ISBN 978-1-84426-612-8

Published by Fastprint Publishing

Global Challenge to Business Challenge

Alex Alley and Paula Reid took part in the 2004/5 Global Challenge round the world yacht race. This book tells the story of that adventure and is worth the cover price for that alone.

But the race story takes up only 1/3rd of the book (don’t worry you may be short-changed, that accounts for 135 of the 362 pages). The balance concerns relating the experience and lessons learnt from crewing a yacht on one of life’s extreme adventures to running a business. Remarkably, it is almost completely successful. Admittedly there are stretches required here and there to shape the two contrasting realities, but the main thrust of the dialogue crosses the divide believably.

The ‘business end’ of the book encompasses ideas to apply to leadership, teamwork, communication, motivation and more. Unsurprisingly, Messrs Alley and Reid now provide workshops and sailing experiences to business through their company, Velocity Made Good Ltd.

So, would you like to read an exciting, exhilarating, frightening even, tale of eighteen months before the mast? Then this is as good an account of the Global Challenge experience as you will find.

Or would you like to see how these experiences translate to the world of business and discover some valuable ideas that will, if applied diligently, almost certainly improve your, and your firm’s, performance? Then this is as good a set of metaphors as you will find.

Get off your Arse, Brad Burton

ISBN 978-1-907451-00-3

Published by 4Publishing

Straight talking

In December 2004 Brad Burton told his employers to ‘shove it’ and set out to build his own business. Fast forward to November 2005, Brad is thousands of pounds in debt, delivering pizzas to put bread on the table and a friend invites him to a breakfast meeting of a networking group.

He hated it. But his business was going down the pan and networking seemed a likely lifesaver. So, as advocated in this book’s title, Brad decided to ‘get off his arse’ and do something. That something was to create a new business networking organisation that had none of the characteristics he hated. As we near the end of 2009, 4Networking has over 200 groups meeting regularly all over the country. A meteoric rise from near total failure to massive success.

In this book we are treated to Brad Burton’s story, his philosophy and some of his dreams. An engaging writer, he exhorts us to ‘Do something! Anything!’, to surround ourselves with smart people and to understand that the road to success is a hard one In short, he pulls no punches; he is overflowing with enthusiasm and his book is an easy read. He has some unusual viewpoints that refresh the familiar themes (such as ‘people buy from people …) and his treatise on the ten-minute appointment certainly gives food for thought.

All told, entertaining, largely original and well worth the time it takes to read.