Reviewed by Dr. Jordan Alexander for Readers' Favorite

Mindfulness Without the Bells and Beads offers exactly what author Clif Smith says it will: Unlocking Exceptional Performance, Leadership, and Well-being for Working Professionals. Without ringing one bell or chanting one Om, the ex-CIA-trained intelligence officer, US Army veteran, and former diplomat shares a spiritual-free version of mindfulness practices that anyone can apply at work and home. Smith first quiets the noise around the concept of mindfulness, then shares examples of practices you can try over an eight-week period. None of them requires any spiritual belief! The overview of why mindfulness is critical today cites various studies of how work gets the bulk of our attention, followed by phone apps and Netflix, asking us what quality time is realistically spent in our lives?

Smith covers the myths of multitasking and the downsides of distraction, like how a three-minute social media break will take an additional twenty-three minutes to get you back on task. Readers will also learn why the wandering mind doesn’t allow proper rest and can create unhappiness; plus how consequences of physical presence without mental presence can increase stress and anxiety, compound health issues, and reduce productivity. So what’s the answer? According to Smith, it is a balance of non-striving (less doing, less should's, and more being), acceptance, letting go, and focusing on gratitude and generosity as a start. The rest is about practice – formal and informal – and patience with yourself, especially learning mindfulness. He urges us to be kind with the stories we tell ourselves about trying new mindfulness experiences.

In Mindfulness Without the Bells and Beads, Clif Smith has brought his teaching to tens of thousands of corporate and government leaders as Ernst and Young’s Global Mindfulness Network Leader. Now you too can gain his valuable insights and perspectives. Each chapter summarizes key learning points and takes you step-by-step on a formal practice to try yourself, like starting simply with an Awareness of Breath meditation. Your informal practices come next and include everything from mindful eating and drinking to catching and releasing thoughts and keeping a gratitude journal. Daily mindfulness practices help you become more aware, happy, and healthy. If the spiritual side of mindfulness has been holding you back, Mindfulness Without the Bells and Beads is here to help you improve your work, relationships, and life, one breath at a time.

Reviewed by Astrid Iustulin for Readers' Favorite

When you decided to become a business owner, you probably imagined some of the risks you would face. However, have you ever wondered if you and your company could deal with a cyber attack or if you are safe from fraud and abuse? Have you ever wondered if your workplace offers protection against violence? All of these situations need your consideration, but if you do not have the time to reflect on them all (every business owner has limited time), I recommend that you read Ivy Walker's handy manual, Twelve-Minute Risk Management: Strategies and Tools Small Business Owners Need Right Now to Navigate Today's Business World. Written for small business owners who want the best for their business, this book will put you on the right path by analyzing risks and offering what you need most - solutions.

Twelve-Minute Risk Management will make many small business owners happy. Ivy Walker will open the eyes of those who read her book and make them understand what steps are required for the security of their business. In particular, I was fascinated by the chapter on cyber-attacks. I believe the author's warning that small companies are more at risk than large ones will make business owners grasp the importance of paying attention to this aspect. The chapter about workplace violence (and the considerations of domestic violence it implies) also offers valuable insights into how the employer should deal with employees. This is a book that small business owners will appreciate for its no-nonsense approach. I believe they will all benefit from reading it.

Reviewed by Cecelia Hopkins for Readers' Favorite

Winning Digital Customers by Howard Tiersky offers invaluable advice on staying relevant in a digital age. Chapter One commences with a discussion of the enthusiasm we feel for brands and products that successfully create a sense of connection with customers. Chapter Two explains the stages of Digital Evolution, then Chapter Three explains how digital transformation helps a business retain relevance, achieve cost efficiency, and attract employees. Chapter Four suggests convenience and personalization are key benefits to a digitalized product, while Chapter Five emphasizes the importance of a customer focus. Chapters Six to Ten discuss customer research and understanding the customer experience. Chapters Eleven to Fifteen workshop putting ideas into action, using innovation and “Design thinking”. Chapters Seventeen and Twenty-One discuss optimization, giving examples on making things work and combatting resistance to change.

Winning Digital Customers by Howard Tiersky is a readable and informative guide, providing insight into the reasons why some businesses successfully negotiate the digital age and others do not. The book also provides an interesting study into organizational culture and outlines the process of surviving transformation. Tiersky writes with authority and experience, covering material that would be appreciated by a business owner or corporate trainer. The book is illustrated with diagrams and flowcharts that make the explanations clear enough for any reader to comprehend. The occasional amusing anecdote lightens the mood and makes the business information relative and accessible. I recommend Winning Digital Customers by Howard Tiersky to anyone who enjoys reading non-fiction and learning about the economy.

Reviewed by Vincent Dublado for Readers' Favorite

Customer Escalations Management: The Golden Recipe by Nikolaos Zormpas is the ultimate guide on how to provide amazing customer service and exceptional customer experience. Dealing with customers and avoiding escalations is one of the most challenging parts of any business, but the good news is that this book redefines what true customer service means. Is the customer always right? This book tells you that it is not always the case. However, it is an aspirational ideology that, when placed in the right context, becomes the nucleus of the five steps you can take to overcome challenging situations and reach a mutual agreement with your valued customers. There is always a silver lining. Use The Golden Recipe to learn how to handle customer escalations that result in customer satisfaction.

Nikolaos Zormpas puts the human touch back into customer relations and strengthens the connection between people and your business. It is difficult to win customers yet it is very easy to lose them. Customer Escalations Management teaches you how to retain your customers, strengthen your brand, and accumulate more patronage. Zormpas guides you through all this by presenting you with a realistic approach to the subject. I've had my share of customer service experience, having worked at an outsourced call center, and I certainly wished I'd had this book back then. I like the way it teaches you a strategic approach to defusing customer frustration. The Golden Recipe is a huge boost in turning problems into opportunities. Customer Escalations Management is an invaluable reference for anyone who is engaged in a customer-oriented venture.

Reviewed by Foluso Falaye for Readers' Favorite

In Oops, I Became a Manager: Managing the Veterinary Hospital Team while Finding Unicorns, Amy Newfield provides a comprehensive guide to mastering leadership and management in the veterinary industry. Amy picks several engaging and humorous stories from her experiences while working with different veterinary teams to give readers practical, tested methods to employ with their teams. The book contains thought-provoking essays about learning to delegate and supervise optimally instead of trying to take on all the important activities, key traits to look for while selecting leaders, building trust and reducing gossip in workspaces, recognizing and dealing with burnout, and more. Whether you're new to the veterinary world or you've been practicing for a while, you will learn how to up your game in leadership and teamwork from this informative and complex book.

I wish that every professional role came with a candid, fully-packed guide, like Oops, I Became a Manager to advance individuals in their chosen careers and help them avoid costly mistakes. This is exactly what the book does for veterinary professionals. Still, the lessons about leadership and performing well with others within teams can be applied in any field. It doesn't get more practical than the direct steps Amy Newfield shares as it includes clear wording and messages to use in different situations, the activities to include in different types of meetings, and more useful information that shows that the author has mastered her profession. Thanks to this book, I now know how significant and beneficial something as simple as giving well-deserved praise can be. This is a well-balanced, engrossing book, with its abundant statistical information, real-life examples, and its friendly, interactive tone.

Reviewed by Tammy Ruggles for Readers' Favorite

The Happy Leader: A Leadership Fable about Transformation in Business and in Life, by Shawn Johal, is an inspiring, original guide to becoming a better leader. The author uses a fresh, unique approach in this self-help book, incorporating his experience as an entrepreneur and leadership coach. But the most appealing part of this book, besides the valuable information, is the way Johal presents the material: Life-altering advice wrapped in a fable. In the world of business and finance, the words "happy", "forgiveness", or "meditation" may not immediately come to mind, but in this book they do, because these are just some of the concepts that Johal uses to transform your leadership skills, and maybe even your life.

Sometimes in life, or in the working world, you just need a change in perspective, or a new way of looking at what possibilities lie ahead. This is what the fable is all about. You can put yourself in the character's place, and learn something about yourself and what you can do to make changes for the better. The best lessons are often learned through parables, anecdotes, or stories, and Johal is clever in presenting his information this way. It's also entertaining. I especially like Ravi, whose impact on others is illustrated and recognized. Even if meditation is part of your life, the author will show you styles you may not be aware of and can make a difference, starting today. Positive change can come with commitment. It won't happen on its own. So the strategies found in this book are for those who really want to transform but aren't sure where to start, or who need to take a new route.

When the author talks about healing, happiness, and forgiveness, you really feel the personal side of leadership. One of my favorite things about the book is the actionable advice it contains: Establishing routines, creating habits that produce results, incorporating physical activity into your daily life, and being more disciplined. It will take some effort, but the journey will be worth the results. And if you find yourself not quite understanding the story, the author has included a Happiness Guide, which explains the philosophy and psychology behind it. For an inventive, impactful book on leadership, The Happy Leader by Shawn Johal is a must-read.

Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers' Favorite

The Sales Accelerator: How to Expand your sales capability to compete successfully in any market is a work of non-fiction focusing specifically on sales techniques, and it was penned by author Yamini Virani. Designed to be read and utilized by those who work in the sales sector of their companies, or indeed CEOs looking to expand into new markets, this well organized and innovative book looks at the top strategies that can be put forward to build new sales teams in new environments and coach those teams towards adaptability, engagement and overall positive results when the sales figures return.

Author Yamini Virani bases this excellent work on years and years of intensive experience side by side with CEOs and sales executives, watching both their failures and successes as a strategy is developed towards faster scaling up and better return in new environments. The world of global communication makes international business a must for any large company, but Virani’s organizational style enables readers to break these vast issues down and understand them better from a specific sales perspective. Rather than a generic catch-all approach, Virani’s advice actually gives practical strategies to train a sales team, old or new, for adaptability and changes, which means that they will have the tools to develop around whatever new information they find as they tackle any international market. Overall, The Sales Accelerator gives some excellent advice which is well worth heeding, and the work comes highly recommended for CEOs and executives looking for solid and reliable advice.

Reviewed by Vincent Dublado for Readers' Favorite

Are you already envisioning the kind of retirement that you want? Will you be pursuing a passion? Set up your own business? Travel? Whatever your plan for retirement, it's wise to prepare now, and author Mike Yuen gives you a brilliant how-to guide in his book Intrinsic: Using LEAPS to Retire Early. This concise yet comprehensive personal investment guide is divided into five parts: Part One explains his personal journey and the development of his interest in stocks. Part 2 provides a rationale on why he prefers tech stocks. Part 3 is a review of options and introduces you to Long-Term Equity Anticipation Securities (LEAPS). Part 4 discusses which LEAPS to buy and uses actual examples of his own trades to illustrate a return on investment. Part Five is your recap, an overview of essential takeaways including some important final words.

While Intrinsic is beginner-friendly, author Mike Yuen assumes that you at least have some knowledge of how the stock market works, how to buy and sell stocks, and understand what options are and how to buy and sell calls and puts. These fundamentals are essential for you to fully grasp the concept and maximize the optimum effect of what this book imparts on your journey toward financial productivity. Yuen does his best to cover everything you need to know, and at the same time, the work is inspiring and encouraging when you read about examples of his own trades. It has worked for him, and he wants it to work for you. He wants you to be comfortable and to make early, smart decisions that will greatly impact your financial gains and the life you wish to live in the future. If you have a starting knowledge of the stock market and are looking for a viable investment, then Intrinsic is the book is for you.

Reviewed by Randy B. Lichtman for Readers' Favorite

For anyone looking to start a business, improve their current business, or scale their business, Finance Secrets of Billion Dollar Entrepreneurs: Venture Finance without Venture Capital by Dileep Rao, Ph.D. is an excellent book that brings together academic research and use of principles by successful entrepreneurs into a practical framework for business finance. Based on interviews with 30 billion- and hundred-million-dollar entrepreneurs, Dr. Rao found the majority of those he interviewed were successful and retained control of their companies by avoiding or delaying venture capital (VC) in financing their ventures. In addition, he conducted research on 80 additional billion-dollar entrepreneurs. He found that 90% of those entrepreneurs finance their ventures without VC, and 80% never use VC at all. He encapsulates lessons learned from his research in this book, which provides strategies for business owners to become “finance smart.”

Finance Secrets of Billion Dollar Entrepreneurs is an excellent mix of theory and application as each of the principles Dr. Rao introduces has been utilized by the entrepreneurs contained in his research. The entrepreneurs featured in his study include the founders of Best Buy (Richard Schulze), Capella Education Company (Steve Shank), Medtronic (Earl Bakken), Great Clips (Ray Barton), Fastenal (Robert Kierlin), United HealthGroup (Richard Burke), and many others who have proven that sound financial management principles, when carefully chosen, can bring great success to a business. Since a start-up possesses little history on which to base projections, Dr. Rao provides valuable information on how to choose the correct method of financing based on the stage of development, as well as alternative financial instruments other than venture capital. It also offers lessons on developing the right capital structure for the business, as well as the importance of preserving and utilizing cash flow to survive and thrive. Dr. Rao’s experience as a serial entrepreneur, an investor, and a Clinical Professor of Entrepreneurship, support the sound principles presented. This book provides valuable information on financial strategies for entrepreneurs, supported by extensive primary and secondary research, and conveyed in an effective and compelling manner. Highly recommended.

Reviewed by Romuald Dzemo for Readers' Favorite

The Wholesaling Blueprint: Real Estate Investing with No Money out of your Pocket by Luke Weber is a business book that gives readers inside information about selling real estate without investing any money. In this book, the author defines real estate wholesaling and creates a roadmap that takes readers to success. Readers will find information on how to start, the strategies for quality lead generation places to find properties for sale, getting the properties under contract, and finding clients to buy them. That is the general idea articulated in this book. Still, it brims with information, lessons, and how-tos that are invaluable to readers.

For anyone interested in investing in real estate, this book is the best place to start. It contains what readers need to know and how to successfully navigate the real estate market. However, most importantly, it unveils a goldmine where those without any initial financial investment can still break through. Luke Weber writes in a style that is popular, engaging, and hugely accessible, taking readers through every step of the process, from how and where to start to what they need to know; from finding the right prospects to successfully closing deals, from handling the paperwork to building a successful team. The book is chockful with helpful information. I enjoyed its direct delivery style with real-life situations and examples to drive lessons that will change readers' lives. Luke Weber will make any reader want to get into the real estate business. While this book focuses on real estate, it contains strategies that can be applied to other companies. The prose is strong, the voice authoritative, and the entire book is filled with techniques and practical information that will change the way most people look at real estate.