Book of Interest: Confidence

Throughout the year, I've tried to read at least one good business book a month and this month it is "Confidence:  How Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End" (2004) by Rosabeth M. Kanter, who holds the Ernest L. Arbuckle Professorship at Harvard Business School.

Professor Kanter is in the upper crust of great minds such as Jim Collins, Gary Hamel, Peter Senge and Clayton Christensen.  Reading nearly every book she has ever authored, I will never understand why she is not on the best seller list more often. 

But to "Confidence."  If you want to know why some people and organizations always seem to land on their feet, while others, equally gifted, stumble again and again, then this book is for you.  I highly recommend it.  It's well-written, well-researched and will help you win in any global game you're playing.

From Amazon book review:

Rosabeth Moss Kanter will convince you that the goal of winning is not losing two times in a row. In her view, success and failure are not events, they are self-fulfilling tendencies. "Confidence is the sweet spot between arrogance and despair--consisting of positive expectations for favorable outcomes."

Meanwhile, learn what another entrepreneur thinks of the book and how it rang true to him as he rides out his own firm's recent acquisition of a troubled firm and what he did to turn things around.

News of Interest: Everything You Want to Know About Cloud Computing

We wrote about cloud computing on July 5, 2010.  What's happened since then?  Plenty.

Recent IDC cloud research shows that worldwide revenue from public IT cloud services exceeded $16 billion in 2009 and is forecast to reach $55.5 billion in 2014, representing a compound annual growth rate of 27.4%.

Learn everything you need to know about cloud computing to bring your business up to speed -- from new business models to the biggest cloud opportunities to how organizations can keep up with new architectural paradigms and offer more flexibility with less customization and more integration -- it's all here.

IDC Cloud

Illustration credit:  IDC Cloud

Posted by:  Women Presidents' Organization Chicago

Article of Interest: Unbeatable Customer Care

Whether you run a local or global company, customer care should be a No. 1 priority for you as you grow your business.  Here are ten ways to provide unbeatable customer care. 

Developing Great Global Customer Relations

Full disclosure:  Laurel Delaney serves as the Import and Export Guide for About.com (a New York Times company).

News of Interest: Woman-Owned Businesses Show Strength, Versatility and Growth

According to the annual survey by the Women Presidents' Organization and sponsored by Wells Fargo, it shows 76% of companies have maintained or grown their employee base.

Women Presidents have shown they can adjust to the changing economic climate. Results from the surveyed membership indicate 82% of multi-million dollar business owners have positive outlooks and experienced company growth in 2011, according to the annual economic survey by the Women Presidents' Organization (WPO), the premier peer advisory organization for women entrepreneurs.  Despite the economic downturn, 42% of these CEOs and presidents were able to give their employees raises while, 49% maintained current employee salaries.

Other interesting facts surveyed by WPO:

• 58% of member businesses have grown since joining; 75% of these believe WPO has helped them grow
• 80% believe the WPO helps manage business concerns in the current economic climate
• 72% believe their WPO chapter is the most valuable resource that WPO provides

Read more here.