
Written by lawyers, for lawyers. Like it sounds, this new book (published in 2019), is chalk full of ideas for growing your law practice. The book is written by five lawyers, from different practice areas, different parts of the country, and each with their own unique perspective on growing a law practice. The authors are Ryan McKeen, Billie Tarascio, William Umansky, Theresa Degray, and Jay Ruane.
Tiger Tactics covers subjects like Vision, Financials, Online Marketing, Intake, Client Service, and Hiring. Each of the authors weighs in on every subject, giving their own unique approach. What makes this book both interesting and I think a valuable resource, is the variety of advice and approaches that are offered by the different authors. This book is a quick and fun read – some of the authors are real characters – and you will surely learn some valuable tips for building, improving and growing your
law practice.
–Book review by Ron Wittmeyer

For several years I kept seeing authors quoting or referencing books written by Patrick Lencioni, but I just never made the time to read anything written by Lencioni myself, until recently. Having now read several books by Lencioni, I see why he is so often quoted. By the way, a few other excellent reads by Lencioni are “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” (probably his most famous), and “The Advantage”. Lencioni is a business consultant, whose focus is on assessing and developing people within a business, and the huge advantage that gives a business (in Lencioni’s opinion), if done right. If you own or manage a business, you can find a lot of practical application in what Lencioni has to say in any of his books, and “The Ideal Team Player” is no exception.
In this book, Lencioni outlines the three essential virtues of the ideal team player – 1) humility, 2) hunger, and 3) people smarts. Lencioni explains what he means by each of these virtues and he discusses why the ideal employee must have all three. He also explains how to use this model in the hiring process, in assessing current employees and in developing employees. Like “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team”, this book is also written in the form of a fictional story about a nephew who dives in to take over his uncle’s construction business. The story or fable format makes this book a quick and interesting read.
Whether you are familiar with Patrick Lencioni’s work or not, this is a worthwhile book that brings home the importance of employees being team players. I hope you enjoy reading The Ideal Team Player, and (as I have) I bet you will become a Patrick Lencioni fan.
–Book Review by Ron Wittmeyer, 5-2-22

I think this business book is a very worthwhile read for any small business owner, and a book to keep as a useful business resource as well. The book was written by a CPA, Greg Crabtree, whose clients are all small, privately held business owners. Crabtree’s accounting firm, Crabtree, Rowe & Berger, PC, focuses exclusively on providing accounting and business consulting services to entrepreneurs. In his book, Crabtree teaches some key principles to making a business healthy and profitable. He illustrates these core principles throughout the book with straightforward examples that you can compare to your own financial statements.
What I especially found informative and useful were the benchmarks he provides for certain categories of controllable expenses (like labor costs), which he then demonstrates how controlling labor costs helps lead to healthy profitability. Mr. Crabtree also provides insight into growing a small business, while maintaining profitability along the way. Frankly, the book told me things I just didn’t know – like how much working capital is essential for a healthy business.
I am now working on implementing some of these principles and developing spreadsheets to track the key performance indicators recommended in the book. Crabtree also has a website where you can find his book, and some free sample financial templates you might find helpful as well – www.simplenumbers.me.
So, I have to say that this is one of the most useful and informative business books I have read. Now the challenge for me in to follow through and implement the core principles taught by Crabtree in his book. Thanks for reading this review – I hope you like Simple Numbers!
–Book review by Ron Wittmeyer





