(Paton Professional: Chico, CA) -- With his engaging and inspiring new book, The 7 Lessons: Management Tools for Success (Paton Professional, 2012), Craig Cochran rewrites the entire management improvement genre. The 7 Lessons reads like a novel, but its advice, observations, and analysis are built on a rock-solid business foundation that will help any manager who's serious about his performance to improve. Although a quick read, the book is chock-full of practical information that will truly inspire even the most skeptical of readers.

The 7 Lessons tells the story of B&C Specialty Products, a fictitious Georgia manufacturer facing bankruptcy, and its demoralized and frustrated owner, J. T. Ryan. As a last attempt at breathing life back into his company, Ryan begrudgingly hires an unorthodox consultant with some very big ideas about how to fix the deep problems that plague B&C. Cochran explains his method through the eyes of B&C's folksy managers and employees, and the results are both funny and wise.

Cochran shows readers how B&C learned the seven lessons detailed throughout the book through interviews with managers, employees, and customers. You're guaranteed to see some examples that hit close to home.

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