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There's a class of books that I refer to as "BBS" books. "BBS" stands for "briefcase, bathroom, or side table." I like to have one nearby at all times so I can dip into it and pick up a good idea or a snatch of wisdom.

Keeping Up in a Down Economy by Bob Nelson is the best of that kind of book. It's filled with good ideas and examples. It's clearly written. And you can read a couple of pages from anywhere in the book and pick up something worthwhile.

The chapters have titles like "Direct, Open, and Honest Communication" and "Involve Employees and Encourage Initiative." All the ideas in each chapter relate to each other.

But the chapters are like the episodes of Law and Order. You can read part of any one without reading the others and still get value. That's good, and there are two other things that I like about this particular book.

First, there are lots and lots and lots of examples from corporate life. In fact, there are examples from over 100 companies. That's almost one new one per page. It gets better.

The examples are not the same ones you've heard, even from companies you may recognize. Lots of writers use examples from Southwest Airlines. But I never heard of the way they're using games for training until I read this book.

When you hear about Best Buy, it's likely to be about ROWE. Not here. Nelson writes about how the current CEO, Brian Dunn, made a judgment error in cost cutting, but listened to employees, used social media, and ultimately did things differently.

One more thing. Don't get too hooked on the "down economy" part of the title. There's specific advice here for succeeding in turbulent times, but most of the advice and ideas will work in any economy.

Boss's Bottom Line

Keeping Up in a Down Economy is a great business book to dip into for inspiration or if you want lots of good ideas from lots of different places.

Wally's Working Supervisor's Support Kit is a collection of information and tools to help working supervisors do a better job. It's based on what Wally's learned in over twenty years of supervisory skills training. Click here to check it out.