Accelerate: 20 Practical Lessons to Boost Business Momentum

by Dan Coughlin

Book Overview

How can a manager accelerate sustainable, profitable growth? 'Accelerate' answers this question with 15 actions that managers in all industries can apply immediately. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1419593722
• ISBN13: 9781419593727
• Release Date: May 2007
• Publisher: Kaplan Publishing
• Length: 290 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.4" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Quick Read with Loads of Common Sense Ideas...

I actually bought this book as a Christmas present for my husband but I ended up reading it too. This book is chock full of those "I knew that but now I will make a point to do that" ideas regarding everything from time management to managing people. Written with a clear and direct voice, this book is guaranteed to provide at least a new perspective to some of your business challenges and even some advice to take into your personal life. My husband has already implemented some of the time management techniques and is noticing a big pay off in that area. Learning how to set up systems that are most efficient for how he works is also a huge take away he has gotten from this book. For me, the value I have gotten is to give more thought to what is working and what can be improved in my small business. So easy to get into the rut of doing everything the same way because that's how it's always been done. Excellent, fast reading book that I would recommend to managers at any level and business owners.

Accelerate Your Results With This Book

As a book coach and author (POP! Stand Out in Any Crowd), the first place I look to evaluate whether a book will be worth reading is the Table of Contents. Is the author saying anything new? Are the chapter titles compelling? If I see something intriguing, I flip to three different sections of the book and read a few pages at random. Is the author introducing tangible, fresh ideas? Sharing real-life examples that show how these techniques work in everyday situations? Does the author pleasantly surprise you with thought-provoking quotes or funny anecdotes? Accelerate passes this test with flying colors. Buy it and take it on a plane with you on your next business trip or keep it in your briefcase to read at lunch. The author doesn't waste time on abstract theories -- he provides practical insights you can use immediately at work AND at home to fast-forward desired results. Read it and reap!

Solid and useful

When I read a book, I like to use 'post-it' notes to mark key sections and passages but within the first chapter of Mr. Coughlin' new book, I stopped using them; the entire book is a 'post-it' note! Also, the subtitle is a bit misleading, the 20 practical lessons are actually filled with numerous mini-lessons; more like 2000 practical lessons. This is a solid and useful book that is an easy read. I've recommended it to several others.

Practical Advice

It is easy to become overwhelmed...jaded by business books filled with theory after theory. Sometimes these philosophies are so lofty that they are lost on the average reader. Though Dan has consulted the most successful businessmen and corporations in America, he maintains a down to earth approach that is much more comfortable to stomach. This book is divided into 4 general topics: Accelerating results on an indvidual level, on the level of your staff, on the organization as a whole, and impacting your consumers. It is genuine, insightful and easy to navigate. Thank you to Dan Coughlin, for making this such an useful business tool with practical take-aways! I highly recommend obtaining a copy.

Ask questions, get answers. Then downshift and GO!

W. Edwards Deming once said, "If you do not know how to ask the right question, you discover nothing." In Accelerate, Dan Coughlin guides business performers by asking the right questions - if my count is correct, 441 of them. Through over 1,500 coaching sessions with the world's best and brightest executives, Dan has developed a reputation for asking the right question at the right time. This book puts into your hands those questions for every business scenario - for yourself, your direct reports and your company. Accelerate is the kind of book you recommend but don't lend because you want it in the passenger seat for that next business challenge around the S turn ahead.