Some power reading as you head for the beach - books of interest to retailers - Editorial

Discount Store News, July 17, 1995 by Tony Lisanti

As temperatures across the country soar towards 100 degrees and the humidity heads to unbearably steamy levels, retailers certainly hope everyone seeks relief in their nice, cool and comfortable air-conditioned stores. Summer is here and many retailers, like everyone else, are getting ready for vacation, trying to escape the heat, praying for a strong Back-to-School business and mulling last minute changes to Holiday season plans.

And like many others, you probably have listened to broadcasts or read articles about every book reviewer's summer reading list. Well, for those workaholics and retail gurus who can't bear the thought of leaving the store behind, I've developed a special reading list for you. It's light on sex, murder and terror, but heavy on partnership, service and recognition.

So if John Grisham's "The Rainmaker" or Stephen King's "Rose Madder" or Mary Higgins Clark's "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" do not pique your interest, perhaps some of the following titles will.

* "The Power of Partnerships: The Next Step Beyond TQM, Re-engineering and Lean Production," by John L. Mariotti, Blackwell Publishers. As a former president of Rubbermaid Office Products and Huffy Bicycle Company, Mariotti relies on his personal experiences to outline a practical analysis of the partnership strategy and why it works.

* "The Nordstrom Way: The Inside Story of America's #1 Customer Service Company," by Robert Spector and Patrick D. McCarthy, Wiley. This is not only a history of this retailer, but a look at the culture of the company sprinkled with a lot of interesting anecdotes.

* "On Great Service: A Framework for Action," by Len Berry, The Free Press. A thorough and exhaustive "roadmap" on how to improve service quality.

* "Customer Satisfaction: Measurement and Management," by Earl Nauman and Kathleen Giel, Thomson Executive Press. This is more of a textbook than a non-fiction book, but it has a ton of hands-on data and case histories.

* "Retailers on Retailing: Lessons from the School of Experience," Arthur Anderson & Co. This is a compilation of articles written by top retailers and consultants over the past 10 years. It includes Sam Walton, Sol Price, Stanley Marcus and Gordon Segal.

* "I Saw What You Did & I Know Who You Are," by Janis Allen with Gail Snyder, Performance Management Publications. This is a super tool about the do's and don'ts of delivering reinforcement.

* "The Myths of Japanese Quality: The Book That Will Change Your View of Japan, Forever," by Ray & Cindelyn Eberts, Prentice Hall. This new release will likely make you feel better about the way we do things in America.

* "The Discipline of Market Leaders: Choose Your Customers, Narrow Your Focus, Dominate Your Market," by Michael Treacy & Fred Wiersema, Addison-Wesley. With several case studies, this new release does what it advises - it focuses on one thing - single "value discipline."

* "Everyone's a Coach - You Can Inspire Anyone to be a Winner," by Don Shula & Ken Blanchard, Harper Business and Zondervan. All you need to know is what the acronym COACH represents. Conviction-driven: Never compromise your beliefs; Overlearning: Practice until it's perfect; Audible-Ready: Know when to change; Consistency: Respond predictably to performance; Honesty: Walk your talk. * "Sam Walton, Made in America: My Story," with John Huey, Doubleday. This is a must book for everyone in retailing.

Have an enjoyable and healthy summer - and happy reading!