Tom Peters -NO connection to the ESI guy- came to notice with his book "In Search of Excellence." Several other books, each the size of a phone book, followed- each elaborating and expanding upon points raised in the first.
Don't buy them- get them at the library. Even then, you need only read the first chapter, the "overview," to get the lessons he's documented in the rest of the book.
While absolutely lacking in specific "how to," they do give great insights into how successful companies operate.
David Halberstam wrote :The Reconing", about the battle between Toyota and Ford. This book also gives some insights into the pitfalls to avoid.
"I can Add "How much should I charge" by Ellen Rohr"
She just wrote that book, to use up extra paper laying around, besides that, why read a book, when i can just call a few contractors and find out what they charge, heck there are plenty of them in the phone book, and i see neew ones every year, the older ones must be really busy, because they are NOT IN THE BOOK ANY MORE!
