Rating: 
Summary: get your hands dirty
Review: I usually don't write reviews. Truth be told, I never have, and hadn't planned on writing one for this book. I came on line to buy a couple more books for people on my team, and read the review from the reader from Vancouver and had to respond. This person has to be seriously out to lunch. As a young, very successful business person, I couldn't believe he actually commented on their age. First, how does he know how old they are? And secondly, since when did age have anything to do with success or knowledge or the ability to create value? Let's ask Michael Dell, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Steve Jobs (do I need to continue?) I'm an avid reader of business books, and noticed that authors Buckingham and Coffman (First Break All the Rules...also a great book) are also "young." Tom Peters was 39 when we wrote the classic "In Search of Excellence." Please don't buy the old school bias of this guy's review. Yes, these guys are young (at least younger than 50). Yes, they talk about their own personal failures. That's what makes the book refreshing and real. It's just the opposite of "fluff." I read Business Think when it first came out, and loved that practical nature of it. I'm also an avid reader of Fast Company, and loved the simlar style and tone. Don't mistake comtemporary style for not being substantive. IT IS!
Rating:
Summary: Read this book
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is written in a casual and easy to read tone. I found it quite easy to devour in one sitting. I've spent over 12 years as a "Big 5" consultant. I think if more consultants take the advice of the authors, we'd see more innovative solutions become reality. I like this book because it's actionable; it's not just about "thinking" (e.g., see rule four: Get Evidence OR rule five Calculate the Impact). There is practical advice. There are great anecdotes. I like business books that give me ideas on what to do day-to-day. businessThink does that. If you're a consultant, read this book and let's see some innovation out there!
Rating: 
Summary: A framework for decisions
Review: There aren't many new ideas within this publication - hence 4 stars. I couldn't help but think of De Bono's six thinking hats as a framework for thinking that has many parallels with the BusinessThink publication.
However, that doesn't detract from what is a message that needs repeating and a message that needs to be absorbed by all of us to make the process of decision making (and thinking in general) more productive.
You're going to get value from this book where dysfunction is at its greatest. If you're already part of a productive team you're probably going to read this book and see recognition of what you're already doing rather than learn anything new.
Personally, this books remains a favourite. Whenever we make a few successful decisions (or believe we do) this is the first sort of book we disparage and neglect. But it's just when we start to believe our infallibility and skip steps within this framework that we start to make blunders. The authors introduce some interesting statistics: successful decisions are fewer on the ground that what our beliefs might suggest.
Rating:
Summary: we have a major perception problem
Review: Having heard one of the authors speak recently, and I just finished the first half of the book, I think this book can help solve so many problems in business, especially when it comes to people, that we've chalked up to "that's just the way it is." Who hasn't been in a meeting before where everyone disagrees with what's being presented, but doesn't say anything until after the meeting, and then kill the project in subversive ways? Who hasn't been in a performance review where neither person has a clue about the performance as it related to the key goals of the team or the company, but pretended to come up with some important "objectives" for the next year without even knowing the what the company really wants to do? Who hasn't worked for a company where the strategy changes every quarter, or every day! The thing I found most compelling was the fact that we all think we're doing great, and there's no research to back up our confidence. When the author asked us to vote on our own confidence, only one guy admitted we wasn't extremely confident. It ended up he was the only guy in the room who was willing to admit the truth. This book teaches you how to swallow your pride, break down game-playing, and get focused on the real needs of the business.
Fortune magazine wrote an article last week, "Why companies fail." This book should be titled, "Why people fail." If you ever find yourself going home from work saying "I don't get it" then get this book.
Rating: 
Summary: An exercise in cynical plagarism
Review: Some time ago I read the excellent "Let's Get Real Or Let's Not Play" by Mahan Khalsa. Seeing him listed as one of the authors of "BusinessThink" I bought it. Only then did I discover that Khalsa appears to have had very little to do with "BusinessThink" (in a long list of acknowledgements he doesn't even feature) and, more seriously, that "BusinessThink" is essentially just a rewrite of "Let's get Real" - indeed whole swathes of "BusinessThink" consists of word for word plagarism of "Let's Get Real". Had there been some acknowledgement of this fact by the authors or Franklin Covey this practice might, just, have been okay. But there is no hint in the introduction, or elsewhere, that "BusinessThink" is just a slightly reworked "Let's Get Real". Shame on the authors, on FranklinCovey, and on the publishers for this exercise in cynicism.
Rating:
Summary: How to get things done!
Review: I loved this book. As a manager in a large company I've found that it can be difficult to deal with all of the politics, games, and ego's that are part of my daily routine. Business Think provides a methodology for dealing with all of the bull that goes on in business. It also gave me a good outline to make better decisions and be able to determine the things that I should be doing from those things that I could be doing.
Rating:
Summary: Finally, a book for the real world!
Review: This is one of the rare business books that isn't chuck full of useless theory or excessive amounts of research with no application. This book provides real skills and a real business tool for objective thinking. I now understand how to build a logical buisness case for or against a presented solution, rather than the typical impulsive projects that are typically based off of bias, ego, opinion, or gut feel. The emphasis on ego is invaluable. Ego costs companies millions of dollars every day, primarily because everyone's in denial that it exist. Thank you businessThink for finally bring a book to the table that is insync with business realities.
Rating:
Summary: greatThink
Review: I was skeptical when the book was first given to me--I was tired of reading the same business cliches, but this book offers a truly valuable and practical way of looking at business decisions, business problems, and business people. I needed it. I wish every colleague, boss, and politician I ever doubted or wanted to knock sense into would read this book. Especially the part about EGO.
Rating:
Summary: Read up entrepreneurs
Review: I've worked for a large company, a start up, and a mid-size company. I've been surprised how similar the problems are; not in the specific challenges, i.e., raising venture capital vs. acquiring companies, but in how common the problems are among the people who work in a company. I gave this book five stars for one reason: it makes a bold attempt to wake people up a bit and challenge their own, common, comfortable approach to their jobs.
Rating: 
Summary: Just Another Business Book
Review: The authors of businessThink base this book on their eight rules for business success. These rules all are focused on asking the right questions prior to all decision points, ensuring data-based decision making processes. The rules themselves are relatively obvious, though, and very few real-world examples are included. Not the best business book; not the worst. Also, one aspect of the book that is somewhat annoying is that the authors use the phrase "businessThink" at least 500 times in the book.
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