Summer Reads For Businesses ? Chris B. Law

Summer Reading for business leaders often includes motivational books. Classics include:
Good to Great ? Jim Collins

Getting to Yes ? Roger Fisher and William Ury

How to Win Friends and Influence People ? Dale Carnegie

If you read my blog, you are likely a family member or recognize the need to ?brush up? on the law before your business is in trouble. With so many topics of interest for savvy business people to cover, I have developed my list of ?Summer Reads for real Businesses in Iowa.?

Summer Reads for Businesses in Iowa:

Cyber Law: A Legal Arsenal for Online Business ? Brett J. Trout

Cyber Law offers a guide to online business, including navigating pitfalls Cyber Law effectively translates ?online geek? to ?everyday business owner.? Unlike, the rest of my list, this book is actually fun to read.

The Human Resources Manual of a large organization or state agency.

You can get one from a business associate or buy an up to date version. As you read the manual, ask yourself why each provision is in the manual and if your business (no matter how small) may use some of those ideas.

Your own Human Resources manual.

Each business owner should be the expert in the business?s human resources manual. If you don?t understand it, talk with your lawyer about re-writing it. No business owner ever won a case by saying ?I did not understand my own manual.?

The ?standard? contracts used by your business.

If you don?t understand it, talk with your lawyer about re-writing it. No business owner ever won a case by saying ?I did not understand my own contract.?

The actual regulations of your industry (and then the website that explains the regulations that you just read).

For this I recommend an iPad, Kindle or reader. State and federal regulations are free to the public and published in the Code of Federal Regulations (?CFR?). The US Government site provides a keyword search.

Some agencies provide websites with quick explanations of their regulations as well as FAQ pages. Additionally, many agencies publish updates on their websites, of which a complete listing is available here.

Iowa also publishes administrative regulations in the Iowa Administrative Code, available from the Iowa General Assembly?s website. Familiarizing oneself with these resources can not only consume numerous hours of free time, but also allow a quick answer to be found when issues do arise.

Iowa Supreme Court cases (just the business cases).

The Iowa Supreme Court regularly releases opinions which touch on business, as does the Iowa Court of Appeals. The Iowa Supreme Court and Iowa Court of Appeal opinions are well reasoned, concise, and usually enjoyable to read. More often than not I find my weekly review of recent opinions has bearing on a client?s matter or a personal interest. My next blog will be about recent Iowa Cases.

The Iowa UCC.

Iowa has adopted the Uniform Commercial Code (?UCC?), which governs myriad aspects of business, from creation of a contract (see Article 1) to sales of goods (see Article 2) to transactions involving security interests (see Article 9). The UCC is no light afternoon read. An entire law school course may only cover one Article of the UCC; though this should not dissuade you from reading it. Knowing the actual language of the law will help any business leader to ask the right questions when the next contract is negotiated.

Anything your tax advisor tells you to read.

Finally, a bit of a reminder that professionals are here to help you. Often, articles or other materials that are ?suggested? for reading could end up saving a business (and any professionals employed by that business) time. Whether it is keeping receipts or ensuring a document is signed and notarized, advice from professionals is meant to aid a business. My advice is to take some time and read up on a topic which affects your business. Not only will you be more knowledgeable, you may just head off a ?situation? before it arises, or prevent one from growing exponentially.

Source: http://chrisblaw.com/2011/08/summer-reads-for-businesses/

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