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.

Persuasion, James Borg

Published by Pearson

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

The world’s best-selling book on persuasion

That’s what it says on the cover of the second edition – and I’m baffled. Okay, it’s not a bad book, but it’s not a great book.

For a start, there are some really irritating bits. He quotes the tired old Albert Mehrabian stuff about the relative importance of visual, vocal and verbal information. But he has clearly not read the research, or has not understood it. This then brings into question his interpretations of other research and indeed his assertions throughout the book.

He also attempts to cover body language and memory, but does so superficially. To be fair, each requires a book of its own so I felt he would have been better giving less information and recommending further research; there is no bibliography which would have been a great help.

So, having dealt with my reservations, what is there to recommend?

I found the discussions of empathy, sincerity and listening/attention interesting and useful.

Psycholinguistics (saying the right thing at the right time is Borg’s simplification of this daunting word), difficult people and the personality spectrum are also sections that reward the reader.

On balance, probably a long-haul read that may repay you with a couple of useful ideas, if the airport bookstall has nothing more stimulating to offer.

YES! Noah J Goldstein PhD, Steve J Martin, Robert B Cialdini PhD

Published by Profile Books

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

Getting your own way – but with subtlety!

I have long been a fan of Cialdini’s theories ( he is the academic who found a great way to jump the queue at the photocopier; see ‘Influence’ and its sequels) so I was delighted to come across this gem of a book though I have not previously heard of his co-authors.

Subtitled ’50 secrets from the science of persuasion’ it is exactly that – a bunch of tips for getting your own way. Each short chapter outlines an actual event involving (sometimes accidental) persuasion techniques; it goes on to look at relevant research and propose practical applications.

Persuasion, the authors claim, is a science and not an art. Fair enough, even though the theories have been developed by psychologists and psychology is widely regarded as a non-science. The important thing is that all the techniques discussed in this book have been shown to work more effectively than begging, threats or chance. So, if you are in the persuasion business (and who isn’t?) this will prove a useful handbook for you.

From persuading hotel guests to re-use their towels more often (and then more often still!) to showing which common office item can make your influence stick (clue!) the authors provide fascinating tales and practical ideas. They rely not on anecdote but on solid research to illuminate the influence strategies that will ease your passage through your business, consumer and home lives.

There is no room here to discuss all of the tips, but among my favourites are the three-word change that shattered a twenty-year-old sales record, the aforementioned sticky influencer and how similarities can make a big difference.

Buy this book for fun, out of curiosity or as a business investment – but buy it!

50 Prosperity Classics, Tom Butler-Bowdon

Published by Nicholas Brealey

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

How to attract, create, manage and share prosperity

Well, he’s done it again! How he manages to read so many books is a mystery. This is the fifth of his ‘Classics’ books which means 250 leading examples of self-help, success, spirituality, psychology and now prosperity manuals neatly summarised for us.

How many books must Tom have read to distil these collections? Thousands is the answer; and we should be truly glad that he has because this series represents an invaluable short–cut for the seeker of enlightenment.

With regard to the latest entrant, it is a cornucopia of wisdom expertly appraised and delivered in a digestible format. From world famous classics of the genre to obscure ‘worst sellers'; from Carnegie and Hill to Branson and Trump, Tom Butler-Bowdon has scoured them all to bring us this invaluable reference work.

Treat it with respect. It will point you to those authors who speak your language; those writings that could spark off your own innate ability to create for yourself a prosperous life in all senses.

I really can’t put it better than John Randolph Price (one of whose books features so maybe he has an axe to grind), “A treasure chest of golden nuggets to use in realising a life more abundant.”

Tales of Talent, Guy Ellis

Published by Bookshaker

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

Talent management from a different perspective.

High profile HR consultant Guy Ellis takes a break from his global client list and turns his hand to writing a fairy story for grown ups. Or, more accurately, a series of short tales designed to help managers understand their role better.

Regular readers will know that stories are not my favourite method for getting messages across; I could tell you what to do with your cheese and your fish! However, Guy’s style has a certain charm and the messages he brings are certainly worthy of consideration.

The story element concerns an ambitious young boy, Janus, who is desperate to become wise. Encouraged by his queen, Janus visits various members of the royal household and each imparts a share of the knowledge he seeks.

Stripping away the layers, this book is all about the importance of people to every organisation; something to which we all pay lip service and yet few take the appropriate actions. Stressing teamwork, planning, motivation, appropriately benign management and, above all, a proper sense of humility, Mr Ellis admirably supports his case that

“Organisations are simply a group of people with shared interests or purpose.”

A useful addition to the manager’s bookshelf – and an easy read to boot!

Your Money and Your Brain, Jason Zweig

Published by Souvenir Press

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

Subconscious triggers that control investment behaviour

Who’d have thought it – neuroscience can make you a more successful investor!

This fascinating, though not always easy, book attempts to explain the weirdness of the stock market and those who invest in it from the standpoint of evolutionary biology and psychology.

Apparently, our human proclivity for finding patterns even when none exist causes us awful problems as we try to predict what is coming next for our stocks. Equally, rationality and emotion, wrongly mixed, can be disastrous.

With the help of brain scans and interviews with scientists at the forefront of neurological research, Mr Zweig shows why we over-estimate gains and minimise possible losses as we decide how to build our portfolios. )At the same time I found he opens up some interesting possibilities that have nothing at all to do with investing.)

So if you want to know why you keep taking profits too early and hang on to crashing stocks too long or you’d like to learn how being happy can make you richer I suggest invest (geddit?) in a copy soon. Your bank balance may appreciate (sorry!) as you “become a smarter more successful investor the neuroscience way.”

Being Positive and Staying Positive, Pauline Rowson

Published by Rowmark

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

Self-confidence primer

The prolific Ms Rowson adds another volume to the ‘Easy Step by Step’ series with this practical guide to being positive even when the going gets tough.

The book promises you ways to increase self-confidence, to stop being frustrated with life and to finding inner contentment.

Realising that we all feel ‘down’ on occasion; whether because of health problems, family or professional setbacks or simply the baffling pace of modern life, the author tackles the subject with directness and vigour.

As usual with these guides, there are plenty of bullet points to help you take in the messages quickly and easily and the end-of-chapter summaries provide handy reminders.

Covering negativity, stress and self-esteem, the author shows how you can improve your self-confidence by appearing confident, by your body language and how you communicate; and even by the way you think.

Adding self-knowledge and assertiveness plus tips on dealing with less than positive contributions from others makes this a pretty comprehensive survey of the subject.

If you have ever felt that you are not realising your full potential, this book can help you start living a fuller life.

Instant Creativity, Brian Clegg & Paul Birch

Published by Kogan Page

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

Creativity catalyst

Competitors, costs, customers; life would be so much simpler without them. But they are facts of life and Messrs Clegg & Birch claim that creativity is the way to handle these and all the other problems business throws your way.. Creativity, they say, is a survival factor.

The authors have set out to create a handbook that is easy to use and will make the most of whatever creativity is available – yours or others’. They begin by establishing what exactly creativity is and what gets in its way before going on to look at specific creative techniques. These they split into two sections;

First, establishing exactly what the question is. This is handy when you know you have a problem but you aren’t quite sure what it is or what the cause is. So the techniques in this section are designed to help you get a clear understanding of the nature of the problem with, perhaps, some idea of a general approach. Once you have a clear statement of the problem, you are ready for …

Second, what’s the answer? You know pretty well what you want to achieve but how to achieve it is proving elusive. The problem solvers and idea generators in this section will get your juices going, the authors hope, and ultimately drag the optimum solution out into the open.

You may have briefly to suspend judgement as some of the techniques can seem bizarre. In fact, some of the titles seem bizarre, take ‘Time Slices’ for example, or ‘Mud Slinging’, ‘Cacophony’ and ‘Psychiatrist’s Couch’. Stick with it though; it all makes sense in the end.

This is a ‘dip-in’ book with more than seventy techniques explained and a selection guide to help you choose the best technique(s) each time you use it.

Recommended if you have problems or simply want to increase the amount of creative thinking that goes on in your business.

The Game Plan, Steve Bull

Published by Capstone

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

Winning through ‘mental toughness’

Steve Bull is consultant psychologist to the England cricket team. He has been the Great Britain Team Psychologist at three Olympic Games. He has a twenty year track record of success working with people in sport and business. He has an honorary doctorate for outstanding work as a sport psychologist. His book is filled with good advice; quotes from famous successes from all walks of life; a whole final chapter on how to put it all together and succeed.

Why then did I find Steve’s book so unsatisfactory? Firstly, I think, because of the continual emphasis on ‘toughness’. It begins to grate after a while. I know ‘macho’ is the flavour these days, but wouldn’t ‘resilience’ have done the job just as well without the overly aggressive connotations? Then there are the ‘four key areas of toughness’ (at least it wasn’t seven!) – ‘turnaround’, critical moment’, ‘endurance’ and ‘risk management’ toughness. They all sound so naff!

Now this is a shame which may say more about my prejudices than it does about Steve Bull’s book; but I have to say I found it all mildly depressing. The content is full of good ideas and his record, in and out of sport, is outstanding, so please pop along to your local bookshop and thumb through a few pages before making your decision.

And don’t let Britain’s sporting record put you off – just think how bad it might have been without Mr Bull!