Sunday, January 24, 2010

Best Business Books | 2009

Business -- a nice concept that didn't work out too well for millions of Americans in 2009.

It is challenging to identify an American who was not affected by The Great Recession. Yet, how many of us saw it coming? How many of us made adjustments once the storm arrived? How many of us have made the necessary corrections to get back on course and strengthen our ships to survive the next storm which will inevitably batter our shores?

Business Book Resources

What is not difficult is to identify are resources that can help us navigate the world of business, regardless of our choice of occupation. What follows is a quasi-scientific analysis of the Best Business Books of 2009.

An online search revealed 14 "Best of" lists from the following sources:

Best Business Books | Runners Up

All told, 118 books were mentioned on at least one "Best of" list. Thirteen books were mentioned on at least two lists (the Honorable Mention). Here are the eight books identified on at least three lists (the Runners Up):

Best Business Books | Winners

Two books were were mentioned four times on the "Best of" lists. And the two best business books of 2009 were . . .

  • Too Big to Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System—And Themselves
  • Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust

Too Big to Fail takes a look back and explores how we created the storm that crashed our economic ship. Trust Agents takes a look forward and explores how we can use social networks to build a stronger ship to weather the next storm.

Business Action

Identify one book from the lists above and commit to learning more about the business world. Making a study of best business practices can only help improve job prospects and career success as we move into a new decade.

[ NOTE: Facebook Fans of Beantown Web gain access to a list of the 13 additional books that found their way onto two lists (the Honorable Mention). Become a fan today! ]

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Boston Market | January 2010

Employers will covet technology workers in 2010. If you are a techie with the right skills and the right connections, then you will uncover work opportunities as this new decade begins. Here are the details . . .

CareerBuilder’s 2010 Job Forecast

One in five employers plans to increase their number of full-time, permanent employees this year. The comparison from one year ago:

  • 2010 | 20 percent
  • 2009 | 14 percent

Here are the areas within these companies that will most likely increase staffing levels in 2010:

  • technology | 33 percent
  • customer service | 28 percent
  • sales | 23 percent
  • research/development | 18 percent
  • business development | 17 percent
  • accounting/finance | 15 percent
  • marketing | 14 percent

So, companies will be hiring in 2010 and technology professionals head the list of desired talent. A summary of these survey findings of 2,700 hiring managers and human resource professionals across the U.S. is available from CareerBuilder.

Top 20 Web Technologies

To find out which web-related technologies are most in-demand access the list of Top 20 Web Technologies in Boston. The list has been updated for January and appears in the right-hand column. The downward trend from early December reflects a normal year-end slowdown in hiring.

The Top 10 remains largely unchanged from one year ago (HTML + CSS replaced ASP.NET for the #10 position). This demonstrates a strong and steady demand for the following technical skills:

  • Web Design | HTML, CSS, JavaScript
  • Web Development | Java, C#, Perl, Web Services, XML
  • Database Development | SQL, Oracle, SQL Server
The Second 10 skills (#11 through #20) include the following:
  • Web Design | UI, Photoshop, Flash
  • Web Development | Ajax, e-commerce, JSP, ASP.NET, Python, PHP, SharePoint

Training Opportunities

The best (read "least expensive") training opportunities to upgrade your skills and make connections during the first quarter are the following:

Code Mastery
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Technology focus: SharePoint, ASP.NET, Silverlight
SharePoint Saturday
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Technology focus: SharePoint

Both events are FREE and hosted by Microsoft at their Waltham, MA offices. SharePoint Saturday events occur in more than 30 cities around the globe. Access the SharePoint Saturday website to identify a location near you, if you are not in the Boston area.

[ NOTE: Facebook Fans of Beantown Web gain access to an expanded list of the Top 50 Web Technologies in Boston. Become a fan today! ]