Establishing a System of Policies and Procedures

Rating:
Summary: Quality Book about Writing Policies and Procedures
Review: As a quality professional for 26 years, this was a great book and I was happy to see that the American Society of Quality gave it a great review on the author's web site. It has wonderful content such as research, writing format, communications, and information you don't find anywhere else.

I like the book because it is short and not full of fluff like a lot of authors write. You don't get bored and you stay focused. Thanks Steve.

I have read some of the other reviews, they are all positive except for one or two and it sure seems like they are bashing for no reason other than something to gain (like being an author of another book of similar content that isn't doing as well). I can't believe someone would do this.

Read the book and you will see why it is so good.

By the way, I believe he is writing a fourth book about how to ensure policies and procedures are effective and are cost effective. Sounds interesting to me.

Hal

Rating:
Summary: Incredibly Detailed Book about Policies & Procedures
Review: ESTABLISHING A SYSTEM OF POLICIES AND PROCEDURES is still the only book of its type in the world. This book will teach you how to write easy-to-read policies and procedures for any department in your company. I have included numerous examples and illustrations to make this task easy and effortless. Being a systems person, I have been very thorough and show you how to start with "nothing" and finish with company manuals that are fully trained and implemented.

I have been where you are now. I have developed systems from "scratch" and I have gone into companies and have "revamped" their systems and instituted these easy-to-use guidelines. These guidelines are used in companies such as Eastman Kodak, Litton Industries, Nestle, or the U.S. Government.

I have a chapter on how to determine content for your manuals. I have included listings of possible policy and procedure topics for several major departments including Human Resources, Purchasing, Sales Management, Accounting and Finance, Manufacturing, and even Forms Management. I have even included listings of major core business processes for three large, multinational companies.

I have included a 7-step writing format which is the heart of the writing process and this is what makes this book incredibly powerful, and of course, the price is right too.

I have included two chapters on converting your printed company manuals to either a network-based system or to an Intranet or Extranet.

But this book goes well beyond its competitors and gives a 15-step approach for training policies and procedures.

This book is worth its price tag. I have even provided my email in the book in case you have questions about what you are reading.

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't Do Without It
Review: I am a novice procedures writer and this book is just I have been looking for. Very simple and to the point. I read for content not for errors, all books have errors. Anyway, each chapter is written in such a way that it is easy to understand and apply. I have read his 7 steps books, it is looks an extension of Chapter 4 on Writing Format. I haven't read his Achieving book but I hear it's great for making sure that your policies and procedures read and used. I can't wait to read that one.

Steve is a good author, he is practical. He writes as if he is talking. I like that style. I can see that it can lead to mistakes in grammar but Steve is doing something very important for us novice writers,and even seasoned writers, he is giving us information that we can use now. He doesn't write from a theoretical standpoint. He writes as he sees it and uses it. I can see that in his writing.

Keep up the good work Steve.

Ellen Sullivan

Rating:
Summary: Practice What You Preach
Review: I am disappointed, and in agreement with P J Leigh. This book contains some useful information for a beginner, or for someone whose career is not primarily in writing. But there is little of substance for the professional business writer. I was expecting to find specific guidelines for integrating our "procedures" with our "polices" as two separate but related concepts. Beyond a definition of the two terms, nothing of help. Also this little tome abounds with typographical errors, more than I have ever seen in a publicly distributed book. Looks like it was self-edited and very poorly proofed. Makes for very annoying reading. Also it is a typographical nightmare. Heading styles are not sensible and the reader can't tell what heading is subordinate to another. (Author could benefit from some of Robin Williams' work, such as "The PC is Not a Typwriter," which is basic but wonderful.) This book needs some professional help before it goes to another printing. Also, it should cearly state that it is geared to people who do not consider themselves writers.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book - a must have
Review: I bought this book when it first came out as the "Policies and Procedures Handbook" from Prentice-Hall. Since then the author has rewritten the book and has included several chapters on converting policies and procedures to network or website manuals. I have found that the author has a true command of the printed manual and he has really SIMPLIFIED things by adding the two chapters on online manuals. He stresses the importance of developing a solid printed company manuals system BEFORE building a network or web manual system. He makes that transition very smooth and easy to understand. I have followed his thoughts to the letter and our customers love our new website manuals. I have to thank the author for his wisdom about developing the printed system of policies and procedures AHEAD of a website manual system.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book - a must have
Review: I bought this book when it first came out as the "Policies and Procedures Handbook" from Prentice-Hall. Since then the author has rewritten the book and has included several chapters on converting policies and procedures to network or website manuals. I have found that the author has a true command of the printed manual and he has really SIMPLIFIED things by adding the two chapters on online manuals. He stresses the importance of developing a solid printed company manuals system BEFORE building a network or web manual system. He makes that transition very smooth and easy to understand. I have followed his thoughts to the letter and our customers love our new website manuals. I have to thank the author for his wisdom about developing the printed system of policies and procedures AHEAD of a website manual system.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book and very well written
Review: I found this book to be exactly what I have been looking for; it contains all of the information that I need to do my job. I found that the WRITING STYLE is welcomed because this author did try to write in a personal style, I felt like I was a part of the book. I love his writing style and can't understand why anyone would say anything else about this wonderful book. I just can't say enough. I have bought an additional 20 books for the managers of my company.

Rating:
Summary: High Quality Book on Policies and Procedures
Review: I have been involved with Total Quality Management for 25 years and this is best book and perhaps the easiest to read and understand that I have been privileged to read. This is so simple and yet so concise. Any novice can learn quickly. Any seasoned professional can pick up a few pointers. This is a wonderful book and should be bought by anyone interested in learning the basics, the fundamentals about writing high quality policies and procedures.

And I am with those anti-bashers. Everyone makes mistakes. I have written articles myself and it is so hard to be perfect even with editors and word processor grammar checkers and the like.

The series of books he writes are wonderful and well thought out. Let those bashers write anything as good as this author writes. And I challenge you to find something as good.

Rating:
Summary: The concepts are so easy to understand and apply.
Review: I loved this book. It is so practical and contains so much information packed into a concise 168 pages. As we didn't have any kind of system at all, other than one created by the President's assistant, our company wanted to start from scratch. Steve's book was just the thing to do this. He walks you through the system and gives you the correct forms and samples to use too. It's amazingly simple!

I learned so much about buying the right kind of binder and tabs for my printed manuals. As we are just now getting into electronic manuals, I can't wait to get started. I have read the chapters on electronic manuals and the author makes it seem so easy. From the application of his guidelines to printed manuals, I am certain that it will also be very easy to convert these printed manuals into electronic ones.

His 7-step writing format as he calls it, is amazing. I simply gather the information for each of the categories, write a some coherent sentences, and I am ready to submit the document for review. What is really great is that I just ask my team members to write certain sections of the writing format and when it's brought together, it all makes sense. It's wonderful and amazing how well thought out this writing format is. I can understand now why the author says that you must have all 7 sections every time for every policy or procedure. Without this exact format, it becomes difficult to write consistently every time. I have personally experienced this issue.

My manual holders have been delighted with my new system of policies and procedures since reading this book. They tell me how clear it has all become.

Thanks Steve for the book. I love it. My company loves it.

Rating:
Summary: Lots of meat, few mashed potatoes
Review: I read that review about little meat, come on, I have spoken with this author. He is detailed, clear, and his book is so easy to read. I have read those other books listed about clear communications and procedures, and they are far from clear, nothing like this book. This book is full of wonderful detail and if 5-6 associations endorse this book, I don't believe the bashing he gets other than saying it must be a competitor.

Thanks