Books about Contracting from Amazon.com

“The amount of knowledge and talent dispersed among the human race has always outstripped our capacity to harness it. Crowdsourcing ­corrects that—but in doing so, it also unleashes the forces of creative destruction.”
—From Crowdsourcing

First identified by journalist Jeff Howe in a June 2006 Wired article, “crowdsourcing” describes the process by which the power of the many can be leveraged to accomplish feats that were once the province of the specialized few. Howe reveals that the crowd is more than wise—it’s talented, creative, and stunningly productive. Crowdsourcing activates the transformative power of today’s technology, liberating the latent potential within us all. It’s a perfect meritocracy, where age, gender, race, education, and job history no longer matter; the quality of work is all that counts; and every field is open to people of every imaginable background. If you can perform the service, design the product, or solve the problem, you’ve got the job.

But crowdsourcing has also triggered a dramatic shift in the way work is organized, talent is employed, research is conducted, and products are made and marketed. As the crowd comes to supplant traditional forms of labor, pain and disruption are inevitable.

Jeff Howe delves into both the positive and negative consequences of this intriguing phenomenon. Through extensive reporting from the front lines of this revolution, he employs a brilliant array of stories to look at the economic, cultural, business, and political implications of crowdsourcing. How were a bunch of part-time dabblers in finance able to help an investment company consistently beat the market? Why does Procter & Gamble repeatedly call on enthusiastic amateurs to solve scientific and technical challenges? How can companies as diverse as iStockphoto and Threadless employ just a handful of people, yet generate millions of dollars in revenue every year? The answers lie within these pages.

The blueprint for crowdsourcing originated from a handful of computer programmers who showed that a community of like-minded peers could create better products than a corporate behemoth like Microsoft. Jeff Howe tracks the amazing migration of this new model of production, showing the potential of the Internet to create human networks that can divvy up and make quick work of otherwise overwhelming tasks. One of the most intriguing ideas of Crowdsourcing is that the knowledge to solve intractable problems—a cure for cancer, for instance—may already exist within the warp and weave of this infinite and, as yet, largely untapped resource. But first, Howe proposes, we need to banish preconceived notions of how such problems are solved.

The very concept of crowdsourcing stands at odds with centuries of practice. Yet, for the digital natives soon to enter the workforce, the technologies and principles behind crowdsourcing are perfectly intuitive. This generation collaborates, shares, remixes, and creates with a fluency and ease the rest of us can hardly understand. Crowdsourcing, just now starting to emerge, will in a short time simply be the way things are done..
Price: $13.25 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The Black Book of Outsourcing is a comprehensive guide and directory for the emerging field of outsourcing, including expert advice on how to operate an outsourcing program, how to deal with the political aspects of outsourcing, and how to find a career in outsourcing. A controversial and emotional subject among business leaders and workers in the global business community, outsourcing is fast becoming one of the greatest organizational and industrial shifts in modern history. In this one-of-a-kind resource, outsourcing gurus Douglas Brown and Scott Wilson chart a course for business leaders charged with managing outsourcing initiatives and present a wealth of employment opportunities for workers who want to enter this growing field..
Price: $21.24 [Notify me when price goes down.]

With The E-Myth Contractor, Michael E. Gerber launches a series of books that apply the E-Myth to specific types of small businesses The first is aimed at contractors

This book reveals a radical new mind-set that will free contractors from the tyranny of an unprofitable, unproductive routine. With specific tips on topics as crucial as planning, money and personnel management, The E-Myth Contractor teaches readers how to:

• Implement the ingenious turnkey system of management—a means of creating a business prototype that reflects the business owner's unique set of talents and replicating and distributing them among employees and customers.
• Recognise and manage the four forms of money—income, profit, flow and equity.
• Harness the power of change to expand the company.

The book also provides help on a larger level, leading readers towards becoming business visionaries by relinquishing tactical work and embracing strategic work, by letting go to gain control. Once put into action, Gerber's revolutionary ideas promise not only to help contractors build successful businesses, but successful lives as well.

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Price: $8.53 [Notify me when price goes down.]

In Spies for Hire, investigative reporter Tim Shorrock lifts the veil off a major story the government doesn't want us to know about -- the massive outsourcing of top secret intelligence activities to private-sector contractors

Running spy networks overseas. Tracking down terrorists in the Middle East. Interrogating enemy prisoners. Analyzing data from spy satellites and intercepted phone calls. All of these are vital intelligence tasks that traditionally have been performed by government officials accountable to Congress and the American people. But that is no longer the case.

Starting during the Clinton administration, when intelligence budgets were cut drastically and privatization of government services became national policy, and expanding dramatically in the wake of 9/11, when the CIA and other agencies were frantically looking to hire analysts and linguists, the Intelligence Community has been relying more and more on corporations to perform sensitive tasks heretofore considered to be exclusively the work of federal employees. This outsourcing of intelligence activities is now a $50 billion-a-year business that consumes up to 70 percent of the U.S. intelligence budget. And it's a business that the government has tried hard to keep under wraps.

Drawing on interviews with key players in the Intelligence-Industrial Complex, contractors' annual reports and public filings with the government, and on-the-spot reporting from intelligence industry conferences and investor briefings, Spies for Hire provides the first behind-the-scenes look at this new way of spying. Shorrock shows how corporations such as Booz Allen Hamilton, Lockheed Martin, SAIC, CACI International, and IBM have become full partners with the CIA, the National Security Agency, and the Pentagon in their most sensitive foreign and domestic operations. He explores how this partnership has led to wasteful spending and threatens to erode the privacy protections and congressional oversight so important to American democracy.

Shorrock exposes the kinds of spy work the private sector is doing, such as interrogating prisoners in Iraq, managing covert operations, and collaborating with the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans' overseas phone calls and e-mails. And he casts light on a "shadow Intelligence Community" made up of former top intelligence officials who are now employed by companies that do this spy work, such as former CIA directors George Tenet and James Woolsey. Shorrock also traces the rise of Michael McConnell from his days as head of the NSA to being a top executive at Booz Allen Hamilton to returning to government as the nation's chief spymaster.

From CIA covert actions to NSA eavesdropping, from Abu Ghraib to Guantánamo, from the Pentagon's techno-driven war in Iraq to the coming global battles over information dominance and control of cyberspace, contractors are doing it all. Spies for Hire goes behind today's headlines to highlight how private corporations are aiding the growth of a new and frightening national surveillance state..
Price: $14.08 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This book should be required reading for anyone who is thinking about building or renovating a house. The savings involved can make the difference between just dreaming about that dream house and actually building it.

The primary message behind Be Your Own House Contractor is “You can do it!” According to construction expert and author Carl Heldmann, anyone can oversee the building of a house and save up to 25 percent by acting as the main contractor. This popular book has sold over 268,000 copies since it was first published in 1982.

Written for those with little or no experience in the building trades, Be Your Own House Contractor clearly and simply lays out the steps involved in home construction and answers the many questions that arise. Concise chapters deal with:
•Locating and purchasing land
•Procuring financing
•Estimating costs and staying within a budget
•Hiring subcontractors and finding suppliers
•Building the house
•Restoring an existing structure

An extensive appendix contains examples of the forms, certificates, and permits that are required, as well as sample contracts and plans.

The 5th edition has been fully updated and includes Carl Heldmann’s new Web site, where readers can get loan information, daily updates on interest rates, and cost estimate worksheets for planning and tracking building expenses. Other new features include new chapters on renovating and restoring an older house and a Spanish glossary of common building terms..
Price: $7.48 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Succeed in the Federal Government Marketplace Today!

Learn how to break into and succeed in the federal government marketplace with this comprehensive guide outlining everything you need to know about federal contracting. Federal Contracting Made Easy, 3rd Edition, is an all-in-one source designed to give you a full understanding of how the federal government acquires supplies and services. This practical handbook provides references to contracting regulations, size standards, contracting activities, federal publications and forms, subcontracting opportunities, and much more!

This fully updated, step-by-step guide will help you:
-Understand how the government issues procurement opportunities
-Navigate the red tape to speed your way to a successful contract
-Decode confusing rules
-Get to know the key players
-Learn the various types of contracts
-Overcome contracting obstacles

Federal Contracting Made Easy, 3rd Edition, will guide you through the inevitable challenges of federal contracting. Use the most current resource available for your organization today!.
Price: $31.50 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Written by a general contractor of 25 years, Construction Business Management offers the lessons learned from both good and not-so-good decisions Read what it takes to build all aspects of a business that’s profitable, enjoyable, and enduring:

a.. Contract Terms & Conditions (to include and to avoid) b.. Fair Allocation of Risk Between Contractor and Owner c.. How to Make Sure You’re Paid What You're Owed d.. Critical Dos and Don'ts of Mechanics Liens e.. How to Select, Hire, and Keep Golden Employees f.. How to Choose Accountants, Lawyers & Insurance Agents g.. How to Target, Check out, Land, & Retain Profitable Customers h.. Effective Marketing Even the Smallest Contractor Can Afford i.. The Required Success Characteristics of a Contractor j.. Avoiding the 57% Four-Year Contractor Failure Rate k.. Opportunities & Requirements of Retail Construction l.. The Importance of the “Human Factor” And much more that will pay off now and throughout your career.
Written for contractors, key employees, subcontractors, students, and facility executives. Check out the Table of Contents for more detail. .
Price: $32.96 [Notify me when price goes down.]