B6
Thursday, June 19, 2014
CAPITAL IDEAS
CAPITAL QUESTION:
calgaryherald.com
UPCOMING:
What’s the best business book you’ve read?
JUNE
Business After Hours
Entrepreneurs share their favourite reads for getting inspired
JUNE
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Small Business Tuesdays: The Alberta Self-Employment Program
19
JULY
A summer solstice networking barbecue hosted by SkyFire Energy When: 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Where: SkyFire Energy (4038 7th St. SE) Admission: $10 to $30. Details at calgarychamber.com
A program for people looking to start a small business When: 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Where: Calgary Public Library Central Branch (616 Macleod Trail SE) Admission: Free. Details at calgarypubliclibrary.com
Drop-In Business Research Help
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Get small-business research support from the experts When: 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Where: Calgary Public Library Central Branch (616 Macleod Trail SE) Admission: Free. Details at calgarypubliclibrary.com
Have an event that Capital Ideas should know about? Contact us at hello@capitalideascalgary.com.
“Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, written in 1960. It may not be your typical book on business, but it does explore some interesting existential concepts to redefine what it means to be educated in order to grow an idea into a successful business using a one-pointed mind.” — Ely Ryan of Tradeslife Inc. — tradeslife.com
Photo by Kelly Zenkewich/Capital Ideas
Karl Gartly of Zayfti (zayfti.com) shares his business book recommendation with the Capital Ideas community: “Rework by the founders of 37 Signals (Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson). The best line in the book is to always seek to ‘under-do’ your competition.” “Pitch Anything by Oren Klaff is an excellent book on how to learn to present your ideas and pitch your product, idea or business to anyone. It’s definitely a game changer!” — Natalie Blais of Natalie Blais Consulting Inc. — NatalieBlais.com “How to Win Friends and Influence People, written by Dale Carnegie. Although this book was first published in 1936, there is a reason why it has sold over 15 million copies worldwide. A huge part of business growth and sustainability is relationship building. People do business with those they know, like and trust, so if you want more clients or customers, or wish to further deepen existing client relationships, this book is a must-read!” — Heather Broad of Entrepreneur Mom Now Calgary — entrepreneurmomnow.com/calgary “I really enjoyed The Challenger Sale: Taking Control of the Customer Conversation by Brent Adamson and Matthew Dixon. The book profiles the characteristics and activities of top sales individuals. In reading it, I felt I gained a greater understanding of how to reach out, connect and convert leads into longterm clients.” — Crystal DeCnodder of InkPlot — InkPlot.ca “I read voraciously, and learn a great deal from everything I read. However, if I were to choose one book for small business, it would be E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber. It should be the first book any new business owner reads. The second one they should read is Timothy Ferriss’ 4-Hour Work Week so they can figure out ways to work more efficiently.” — Darlene Hull of HotSpot Social Media — HotSpotSocialMedia.com “The Power of Focus by Jack Canfield, Les Hewitt and Mark Victor Hansen.” — Deanna Jones of Park Lane Jewellery — myparklane.ca/deannajones
“Although not specifically a business book, I think every person involved in marketing should read Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. It’s well researched and very well written, with numerous ‘a-ha’ moments that you can utilize every day in business.” — Bruce Leslie of Conference Board of Canada — conferenceboard.ca
“StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath and the earlier Now Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton provided a simple but powerful shift in outlook. Focusing on building on our unique, innate talents rather than trying to improve on weak areas frees us up to do more of what we’re good at and ditch the drudgery (and superwoman guilt). I definitely use it to evaluate potential additions to the team.” — Melanie Love of Front Room — morefrontroom.com “As an entrepreneur, I pride myself on building great relationships with customers so they are happy and I remain top of mind, get referrals and generate more sales. I’ve read tons of fabulous business books, and one of the best to support my philosophy of marketing being all about relationships is The Heart of Marketing: Love Your Customer and They Will Love You Back by Judith Sherven and Jim Sniechowski.” — Brenda Mahoney of Vin Gogh Paint & Sip Studio — vingogh.ca
“The Success Principles by Jack Canfield changed my life! It has short chapters and is easy to read, but it yields profound changes if you implement the principles.” — Catherine Scheers of Empowering Success — empoweringsuccess.ca “The Art of War by Sun Tzu. When perceived in terms of its parallels to market landscape and competition, it teaches everything you need to know about planning, resourcing and acting in ways that align with accomplishing key objectives.” — Scott Valentine of Vivametrica — vivametrica.com
These answers were collected from Capital Ideas members. For your weekly opportunity to share your business advice the way these members have, join us at capitalideascalgary.com.
“While not strictly a business book, I learned so much about team-building, community and communication from Honeybee Democracy by Thomas D. Seeley.” — Bob McInnis of Remarkable People — remarkablepeople.ca “A great book to keep me motivated as I am going through the startup phase of our business is The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino. To get the time to follow through the 10 scrolls is the first step to success.” — Daniela Ostoici of Fronitech — fronitech.com “The best business book I have read thus far… is All In by Arlene Dickinson. Arlene’s words of wisdom, her story and her tips are priceless.” — Maryann Penney of Your Best Life Maryann Penney — maryannpenney.com “Leading Through Conflict: How Successful Leaders Transform Differences Into Opportunities by Mark Gerzon. He looks at how our world is changing, and how the need to shift from competition to collaboration is growing. Our organizations, schools and governments are often run by authority figures in a very structured system, which often creates divisiveness. New managers need to become leaders who transform conflict into co-operation so that everyone can move forward together. As a conflict-resolution professional who supports organizations in conflict, I highly recommend it.” — Michelle Phaneuf of REA Reaching Enduring Agreements — REA-agreements.com
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