Deftly written and well-presented; principals of any service firm will appreciate this treasure trove of useful intelligence...
An in-depth study of what it takes to develop and maintain superior relationships with clients.
Every business that provides a service has clients, and any successful service business understands how to cultivate lasting client relationships. Rynowecer has discovered the “secret sauce” to do just that, which he eloquently describes in this debut work. The author enumerates 17 “specific and unique activities driving superior client relationships” derived from an exhaustive study in which, over decades, he collected insight in 14,000 telephone interviews with senior executives. Rynowecer organizes this intelligence into a “Clientelligence Matrix” that divides the activities into four quadrants. The top right of the quadrant, which represents “high differentiation” and “higher importance,” is labeled “Relationship Bliss” and contains what Rynowecer claims are the four most important activities: commitment to help, client focus, understanding the client’s business, and providing value for the dollar. The author explains the portions of the quadrant and provides sufficient detail about each of the 17 activities, tossing in some pertinent war stories along the way. The genius of Rynowecer’s approach is twofold: first, he delivers his treatise within the context of solid research, which provides a great deal of credible support. Second, by employing such a facts-based approach, the author can address even the most emotionally charged aspects of client relationships in an objective way. Rynowecer’s sage observations are doled out at the end of each short chapter in sections called “Clientelligence Master Class.” Here, he offers specific, sometimes-blunt advice: “Superheroes don’t stop until the client’s goal has been met,” he writes. Superheroes “take bullets for their clients [and] tell clients the truth, no matter how unpopular the opinion may be.” A cleverly devised road map closes the book to help professionals master their client service skills.
Deftly written and well-presented; principals of any service firm will appreciate this treasure trove of useful intelligence for business improvement.Pub Date: Aug. 11, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-9964134-3-5
Page Count: 188
Publisher: The BTI Press
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s...
Music journalist and musician Wald (Talking 'Bout Your Mama: The Dozens, Snaps, and the Deep Roots of Rap, 2014, etc.) focuses on one evening in music history to explain the evolution of contemporary music, especially folk, blues, and rock.
The date of that evening is July 25, 1965, at the Newport Folk Festival, where there was an unbelievably unexpected occurrence: singer/songwriter Bob Dylan, already a living legend in his early 20s, overriding the acoustic music that made him famous in favor of electronically based music, causing reactions ranging from adoration to intense resentment among other musicians, DJs, and record buyers. Dylan has told his own stories (those stories vary because that’s Dylan’s character), and plenty of other music journalists have explored the Dylan phenomenon. What sets Wald's book apart is his laser focus on that one date. The detailed recounting of what did and did not occur on stage and in the audience that night contains contradictory evidence sorted skillfully by the author. He offers a wealth of context; in fact, his account of Dylan's stage appearance does not arrive until 250 pages in. The author cites dozens of sources, well-known and otherwise, but the key storylines, other than Dylan, involve acoustic folk music guru Pete Seeger and the rich history of the Newport festival, a history that had created expectations smashed by Dylan. Furthermore, the appearances on the pages by other musicians—e.g., Joan Baez, the Weaver, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Dave Van Ronk, and Gordon Lightfoot—give the book enough of an expansive feel. Wald's personal knowledge seems encyclopedic, and his endnotes show how he ranged far beyond personal knowledge to produce the book.
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s personal feelings about Dylan's music or persona.Pub Date: July 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-236668-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
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BOOK TO SCREEN
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Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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