Rating: 
Summary: I Was Robbed!!
Review: I thought this book would offer me something new---along with insights gained from one of my favorite characters. I was robbed! The suthor IS slick--and summarizes some great 'Tonyisms', but what he knows about business and management wouldn't fill a gnat's eye. His applications are forced, trite and very old. Nothing new here. Guess it takes a real manager to write a real book about it. All those reviewers who told how it saved their businesses must be in a business world other than mine! What a rip off!
Rating: 
Summary: Not Your Stereotypical Management Book.
Review: I very much enjoyed 'Tony Soprano on Management.' It is very refreshing to see someone turn back the tide of fuzzy, unstructured organizational ideas, and reaffirm that there is no substitute for top-down, clear lines of leadership. Anthony Schneider has debunked some of the nonsense which was being bandied about during the years of the dot-com boom. Technology does not change human nature. My absolute favorite line is:
"So, Tony Soprano on Management focuses on strategies, tools and tactics that have a more universal appeal and won't result in unexplained deaths or prison sentences". Wonderful.
Rating:
Summary: It's All About People
Review: I was skeptical about this book. But now I love it. I really like the idea that it's all about people, and I think managers would be wise to listen to that.Tony knows that relationships are the building blocks of good teams. He also respects those he works with. And you'd better believe that he demands their respect. And that's cool too. Leaders should do that. And he gives people responsibility, let's them do things their way. Micromanaging drives me (and others) nuts. Schneider calls these the 3 R's. I've photocopied that page and it's taped above my desk.
Rating:
Summary: Soundview Executive Book Summaries
Review: I was unpleasantly surpised to be disappointed in this book. I'd read the author's hype and expected that it would be on target. To read the 'reviews' on this site, you'd expect to be promoted instantly after reading this tomb--literally. Instead I found it to be superficial, trite, and unintentionally funny. Schneider posts himself as an expert in management, but gives basic instructions that are decades outdated. That isn't the way I see Tony! He is up to date and wrestles with the issues of being a good manager on a daily basis. Save your money and spend it on 'Execution', or Jack Welch.
Rating:
Summary: Trite and funny
Review: I was unpleasantly surpised to be disappointed in this book. I'd read the author's hype and expected that it would be on target. To read the 'reviews' on this site, you'd expect to be promoted instantly after reading this tomb--literally. Instead I found it to be superficial, trite, and unintentionally funny. Schneider posts himself as an expert in management, but gives basic instructions that are decades outdated. That isn't the way I see Tony! He is up to date and wrestles with the issues of being a good manager on a daily basis. Save your money and spend it on 'Execution', or Jack Welch.
Rating:
Summary: Who Is the Stereotypical Good Boss?
Review: I'd like to suggest that we let HBO and the writers of the Sopranos deal with the stereotypes on the show (if there are any. I'm Italian-American and love the show). This book, however, is about leadership, not Italian-Americans. It paints a vivid picture of what makes (and doesn't make) a great leader. And I find it a very valuable addition to my business library. It might even take the cake!
Rating:
Summary: My Business Bible
Review: I've been managing people for years. And I have not found a book that says it like it is. Really tells you what to do, how to excel, what works and what doesn't. This book is the first one, and I've been following it like a bible. I had a negotiation recently. Consulted the book. Did better than ever before. I had to hire someone. Fire someone. Both went better. The good, the bad, the long term, the shor term, this is the one book that will help you steer through management and do better than you would without it.
Rating:
Summary: Best Leadeship Book of the Decade
Review: If you read one leadership or management book, read this one. If you read two, read it twice. Say what you want about the show, this book will make you a better boss, or worker, make your company better, make you happier and probably make you money. Sound okay?
Rating:
Summary: Sons of Italy, Unite!!
Review: It is time to stop these stereotypes of Italian-Americans!
This book relies heavily on the same images as 'that show'---big-bellied guys from Jersey who whack people who disagree with them. I don't know how anyone can read this stuff and take it seriously. There are so many lessons to be learned from great Italian-Americans who are law-abiding! What about many the firefighters and cops in the WTC? We should be holding them up as examples of heros, not this guy!
Rating:
Summary: My Promotion
Review: It was quite obvious that my subordinates didn't respect me, after I received my promotion to manager. I was set to give up entirely until this wonderful book fell into my lap as a gift from my beautiful wife of 20 years. Not long after reading, the snotty little brat of a file clerk disappeared suddenly after a brief trip on my boat. A few months later, the executive assistant who was forever tardy and spent all day doing her nails disappeared suddenly and unexplainably during a business trip to Maine. I'm planning on using the skills I picked up from this fantastic book on Greg from Accounting, but I must first find where I put my bowling bag. It's incredible just how much respect I get now.
| 
