Every new project (or job, or hobby, or company) starts out exciting and fun. Then it gets harder and less fun, until it hits a low point: really hard, and not much fun at all. And then you find yourself asking if the goal is even worth the hassle. Maybe you're in a Dip: a temporary setback that you will overcome if you keep pushing. But maybe it's really a Cul-de-Sac, which will never get better, no matter how hard you try.

This month's edition of Soundview Executive Book Summaries contains condensed versions of two great business books: Hardball by George Stalk and Rob Lachenauer, and Free Prize Inside! by Seth Godin.

This month, we'll hear summaries of two great business books: Meatball Sundae, by Seth Godin, and The Talent Powered Organization, by Peter Cheese, Robert J. Thomas, and Elizabeth Craig.

This edition of Soundview Executive Book Summaries features condensed versions of two great business books: The Headcount Solution by N. Fredric Crandall and Marc J. Wallace Jr.; and Purple Cow by Seth Godin.

This month's lead article is "Betrayed! The Biggest Lie in Business: 'The Customer Is in Charge!'" In reality, customer service has become a tangle of telephones, email, Web sites, and people. Fast Company senior editor Charles Fishman has this eye-opening account of what's gone wrong. Also in this issue, Seth Godin's got the wedding-day blues, a report on Prairie Inet, transforming the entrepreneur's dream into reality, and more.

Seth Godin, vice-president of direct marketing for Yahoo!, journalist Louise Rafkin, and Linda Greenlaw, author and professional fishing boat captain on this edition of The Todd Mundt Show. Godin talks about a popular, new trend in advertising. He discusses permission marketing, in which the customer and company interact directly to create a business relationship built on trust. His book is Permission Marketing Plus, Rafkin talks about what she learned about her clients while working as a cleaning lady. She talks about how she pieced together little clues to create a full picture of her clients' lives. Her book is Other People's Dirt. And, G ...