Customer Reviews

Boom!: 7 Choices for Blowing the Doors Off Business-As-Usual

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I truly don't understand what the fuss is all about. In terms of background, I am a successful entrepreneur and business owner who has read a hundred of these types of books. I found this book vague, rather remedial and the authors simply regurgitated the same old stuff. It sounds very much like their book "Guts" which was actually a pretty good read. I feel you would be much better off re-reading one of the classics like Think & Grow Rich, an early book by Dale Carnegie or a true new classic like Visionary Life or Visionary Business by Marc Allen. Trust me .... you will thank me.

I have long admired Kevin and Jackie Freiberg -- they are gifted business writers and speakers. If you haven't seen them in person, then you should make a point of doing so the next time they're in town. This particular book -- Boom! -- is different from many business books of this type in that Kevin and Jackie take off the gloves and really tell it like it is. Boom! is NOT politically correct, and the Freibergs don't beat around the bush. Their mission is to fight the growing epidemic of Dead People Working -- you know, those men and women in many businesses who have mentally checked out long ago, but who still come to work to be sure they get that regular paycheck. The Freiberg's antidote is a mix of inspirational stories of people who are fully engaged in the work that they do (people like ski instructor/amputee Kim Francom, and the Dancing Cop, Tony Lepore) along with a series of seven prescriptions (called "Choices") for becoming indispensable on the job. These choices include such things as "Be a player, not a bystander" and "Choose service over self-interest." Long story short, Kevin and Jackie Freiberg have written an engaging book that is certain to forever change your work life -- and perhaps even your personal life -- for the better. Highly recommended.

Having just completed the book, I found it to be the Freibergs' best book yet! I thoroughly enjoyed their practical suggestions to become more engaged to my organization and to be able to make a difference to my employer and more importantly to myself. It is without any hesitation that I can recommend this book to just about everyone.

I was at an airport bookstore when this book jumped off the shelf and into my arms. No wonder, I had just been extolling, to a client group of high powered lawyers, that times are changing (radically) and business-as-usual could well be fatal for many of them. Along come the Freiberg's extolling the importance of blowing up doing business-as-usual. And to think that I had missed their previous books even though being such a voracious reader of business books.

The notion that business-as-usual no longer cuts it is certainly not new. Guru's like Tom Peters, and more recently Seth Godin, have been shouting this message for years.

What the Freiberg's do very well is combine this notion with sound self-empowerment advice which is certainly needed in order to have the courage to challenge the status quo that exists in so many entities.

Here is the conundrum for managers who heed their advice. With the dramatic changes going on in the market, never has there been a greater need for radical change in every industry, and in almost every company. BUT, with the downsizing that is going on, never has it been a riskier time to be popping-off to ones boss about the needed change. Very tricky!

For entrepreneurs, or entrepreneurial managers, this is a terrific book. For managers stuck in a dinosaur company, I would think one would want to be very careful about how one implements the strategies outlined in this book. The latter is not a fault of the book as much as it as a function of the fact that the times have changed dramatically since the book's publication last year.

I enjoyed this book and look forward to following the Freiberg's work and writings more closely. Their main message is one that resonates well with my own beliefs about how our country needs couragous business and political leaders who are willing to challenge,and change, the staus quo.

I loved this book! Although the Freiberg's write about blowing the doors off business as usual, I learned much more about myself personally while reading this book. While I would have rated my career life as pretty great and would say that I led a fairly fulfilling home life...I realized after reading BOOM! that I was not doing either to the fullest extent of my potential. To date, I have made just a few of the suggested changes (but plan to make more) and find I have more time, confidence, and control over my life. However, the most exciting change is that I am having more fun and I spend less time straining to get through day-to-day life and enjoying the journey by focusing on the positives. Thank you for writing BOOM! it is my favorite of the three books you have written.

"Boom!" tells us to stop whining. It tells us to get up off our butts. Get off the sidelines and get in the game and serve others -- and succeed in ways we can't even imagine.

The world tells us it's all about us, that the way to the top is connive and backstab. Jackie and Kevin remind us there's another way.

Everyone is free to serve, but so few do. Jackie and Kevin believe you are powerful beyond measure if you choose to serve others.

Kevin once said: "If you were going to be really powerful today, what would you do?" Seems he and Jackie took this concept to heart in writing Boom! A must read.

While many people - and authors - lament the blurring of the lines between "work" and "life," Kevin and Jackie Freiberg have embraced the concept and created a roadmap to help readers dramatically improve both. While some of the insights in Boom! about embracing personal responsibility and leadership are simple, what makes the book stand apart are the authors' head-on approach that both challenges and supports readers to take the difficult steps necessary to actually live them. The online companion Boom Box provides even more and deeper resources that make great "bulletin board material" for personal motivation as well as "passalongs" for co-workers (and even bosses!) to spread positive change throughout the workplace. If you're looking for sharp, 360 degree insight into how your personal life directly impacts your work life, you'd be hard pressed to find a better guide book than Boom! And for those of us who understand that change is good but lack the motivation to make changes when the process or even outcomes appear too difficult, the Freiberg's are unparalleled coaches when it comes to making us all "players" at home and at work.

"You can't do service well externally until you first learn how to do it well internally. The way you treat your coworkers will have a huge impact on the way they treat your customers." p 68, Boom. The authors get it. While it is true the husband and wife authors are not telling us anything new. It is the way they are reminding us to either get re-engaged passionately in your work or look and develop your passion elsewhere.

The book is a delightful read and can assist in re-igniting or adding fuel to better service yourself and your customers. If you are not happy with yourself, how can you be at your optimal best in delivering fabulous customer service?

I enjoyed the book and bought an additional copy to give to someone who needs to re-ignite their passion to work and serve our customers in an outstanding fashion.

The book reads as a collection of motivational essays. Conversational in tone, it's a fast read that emphasizes accountability, service and execution.

A tendency to use aphorisms without plowing new ground....but the quotes are worth the price of the book if you'll be giving presentations on any of these topics.

Design of the book enhances its readability.

It's about time someone has put in writting what everyone has been thinking. This is great eye opener for those in business or thinking about starting a business. We have all experienced "Dead People Working." Wheather a fellow worker,employee or perhaps our self. BOOM! can explode your business into what you first dreamed it could be. Get it NOW!