home : resources : tools of the trade    
   

  About Us
  Services
  Clients
  Resources
 
Tools of the Trade  
  Community
  News and Events
  Contact Us


Resources to Define Your Strategy

The Silicon Valley Way
Elton B. Sherwin Jr.
This is a fast read, organized as 44 very short chapters, each addressing a different marketing question. There are lots of worksheets and pop quizzes, and some very interesting observations (though nothing revolutionary). Sherwin emphasizes that good business plans have short explanatory statements, rather than being excessive and long-winded. Pick and choose what you think is relevant to you. (Prima Books, 1998)

Competing on Internet Time
Lessons from Netscape and its Battle with Microsoft
Michael A. Cusumano and David B. Yoffie
The meteoric rise of Netscape is a story that everyone knows about. But much of what we think we know is actually incorrect, and this book sets the record straight. Netscape is often used as an example of how companies can just spring from nowhere and, simply by being in the right place at the right time, achieve astounding success. But that's not what happened. Imaginative strategy, careful focus and top-notch execution were, in fact, very much in evidence. (The Free Press, 1998)

The Economist
www.economist.com

A subscription to The Economist should be part of every technology entrepreneur's toolkit. And not because you need to know much about political trends in Africa or rural development in Latin America, although those topics are covered very well. This weekly is a must-read because of the superb and insightful coverage of worldwide technology trends from a business point of view. During the swelling of the dot-com bubble, the Economist's somewhat cynical perspective provided a useful counterbalance to the open enthusiasm of the new economy magazines, many of which have since folded.

www.entreworld.org
A useful source of articles, advice, and tips on growing your business, this site searches the Internet to collect in one place the best resources for entrepreneurs. It's a veritable smorgasbord of information.

finance.yahoo.com
The Yahoo business site is a great place for tracking the status of the business world and keeping informed about what's going on around you!

The Real Value of Strategic Planning
Sarah Kaplan and Eric D. Beinhocker
A great article that hits at the real reason strategic planning is useful. These people speak our language! See an abstract or purchase online at:
http://smr.mit.edu/past/2003/smr4429.html

Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Richard Bach and Russell Munson (photographer)

A very simple little story about a seagull who sets out to fly and soar higher than any other seagull. The lesson? That it really is possible to aspire to anything, and that one is only limited by self-imposed constraints. We create our own reality. This book is also available in audio cassette form. (Reissue edition, Avon Publishing, 1995)





_IN-THE-NEWS_

_WHATS-NEW_