Thought provoking. Short text from the Arbinger Institute tells a fictional business story side by side teaching a business lesson. The gist of the book is that people are not objects, self deception makes us treat people like objects and self deception originates from a deeper phenomenon than behavior. As such the solution lies in something deeper than behavior. You’d have to read the book to find these out.
I enjoyed the simplicity in the language of Leadership and Self Deception. I also found the text to be very useful. The ideas shared resulted in a deeper self appraisal. My only issue was that there was only one blank sheet for note taking in my version of the book. Maybe this is what I get for purchasing the paperback version of the book!
I highly recommend Leadership and Self Deception to you.
books
8
Mar 10
Book 51: Leadership and Self Deception
24
Feb 10
Self Deception
I am reading Leadership and Self Deception – getting out of the box. This book is from the Abinger Institute. So far I have enjoyed reading this text, although I am just 15 pages deep. This quote from the book caught my attention, I found it doodle worthy (above). It is by Black Elk, ” It is in the darkness of their eyes that men get lost”. I hope you like it.
5
Feb 10
Jason Fried on Big Think
Jason Fried, author of “Rework,” as well as the ‘minimalist manifesto,’ “Getting Real” talks about the Smarter, Faster, Easier Way to Build a Successful Web Application”.
3
Feb 10
Fixed To Flexible
Tod Sattersten has written an e-book. Fixed to Flexible is about cost, price, margin, and the options we have for how to sell. Check it out Fixed to Flexible.
29
Jan 10
A Business Book Is A Tool, Period
Business books are tools. These books solve specific enterprise or personal problems. If you do not have or do not anticipate having the problems that a business book addresses, the text has no value to you. A mason is not excited about a new hair dryer that claims to cut hair drying time in half. Neither is he interested in the latest version of SharePoint from Microsoft. A new digital level for his brick work however, will totally float his boat.
This is why dropping a business book after reading just a few chapters is advisable. There is not enough time in the world to master tools that would not be used.
19
Jan 10
Book 51: The Greatest Salesman In The World
Classic Og Mandino. Og goes through the age old principles of success by telling an Arabian Nights-esque story. Advising on habits, love, persistence, uniqueness, focus, work life balance, emotions, laughter, multiplication, actions and divine direction. This short story was a pleasure to read. The text is an easy read for beginners.
Recommended to those looking for snackable inspiration reading materials. The value in the text far outweighs the time expended reading it.
16
Jan 10
5 Books That Defined The Decade
Here is Mathew May’s list of the 5 Books that defined this decade;
1. The Lexus and the Olive Tree by Thomas Friedman. (2000)
2. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. (2000)
3. Free Agent Nation by Daniel Pink. (2001)
4. The Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki (2004)
5. Freakonomics by Dubner and Levitt (2003)
here is Todd Sattersten’s list of the 5 that defined the decade.
1. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (2000)
2. Good To Great by Jim Collins (2001)
3. The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman (2005)
4. A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink (2005)
5. Now, Discover your Inner Strengths and StrengthFinders 2.0 by Tom Rath. (2001 and 2007)
and here is mine;
1. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. (2000)
2. The World is flat by Thomas Friedman (2005)
3. Freakonomics by Dubner and Levitt (2003)
4. Good To Great by Jim Collins (2001)
5. The Black Swan by Nassim Taleb (2007)
Freakonomics, because of the impact the book has had on what was once considered pop (not to be taken serious) economics. Black Swan because the text exposed me to a new idea that I never came across throughout my 6 years in Stat classes.
I am curious, what books made it to your top 5?
8
Jan 10
50 Books In 50 Weeks
At the beginning of 2009 I received a review copy of The 100 Best Business Books Of All Time from Todd and Jack. The text is a compendium of business books, which in their opinion were the very best ever written. Flipping through the book exposed my knowledge gap. Though I read a lot of technical books, I had read only two book on their list. I set out to fill this gap in 2009. I resolved to read 50 business books before 31st December, 2009. And I did.
My plan was to read 50 books by December writing two paragraph reviews, on this blog, about each book. I avoided discussions about content, as this was not my forte. My list is peppered with some books only tangentially related to business but the bulk are of popular business books.
2010 marks the beginning of a new reading phase for me. This year is about mastery. Re-reading some of the books, re-visiting concepts from the books and leaning heavily towards biographies and philanthropy (I now work in philanthropy). Quantity will take a back stage to Quality in 2010. However, since I work best with clear targets and deadlines, I have resolved to post at least one business book related blog entry every week in 2010.
Let’s go.
31
Dec 09
Book 50: Out Of The Comfort Zone
Good read. This small paperback was handed to me by the author, George Verwer who is also the founder of Operation Mobilization. OM is an organization with 5,400 people working in over 110 countries to bring the message of hope to the peoples of the world. Out of the Comfort Zone is a handbook for Christians missions, written by someone with many years of Christian missionary experience.
This text is recommended reading for anybody who is remotely interested in Christian missionary. George Verwer has over 1 million books in print, an accomplished author, I must add.
31
Dec 09
Book 49: God Has Eyes In The Back Of His Head
A beautifully illustrated children’s book. Simple ,easy to follow and interesting. One of my favorite of the 50 books, as I was able to share its with my daughter.
Emmett Cooper is gifted.
31
Dec 09
Book 48: What Matters Now
Short. 70+ thinkers pen a page each of what they believe matters now. Mostly inspiring pieces. I found it interesting that many authors put their unique spin on an almost uniform set of needs. What really matters now are relationships, re-examination of the fundamental drivers of our collective economic experience.
Neat effort, I do not know how Seth got these busy folks to do this. Unfortunately, this was text was published as an e-book. A coffee table print version would be awesome.
**Update: A paperback print version is available here. E-book here.
30
Dec 09
Book 47: Made To Stick
Insightful. Made to Stick is full of very insightful stories. Chip and Dan Heath wrote a classic. This is not one of the business books that set out to stretch the facts or over hype a model. The model in Made to Stick is straightforward and easy to follow. There are ways in which you can present ideas that make it easier for people to follow and remember, period. Some of the ideas in the book may be familiar yet the authors definitely put a neat framework around these ideas.
Made to Stick is a well written book that sheds light on the efficient ways to communicate ideas. The many stories in the book stuck. I recommend the text to anybody who is remotely interested in sharing ideas with others.
14
Dec 09
Book 46: Dead Aid
Impressive in a different way. Dead Aid may not be the destination for a rigorous analysis of economic development in Africa. However, Moyo brings some key issues to the fore. Her historical view of the impact of Aid in Africa was a joy to read. She simplified the boring field of African developmental economics. Yes! I said it the academic field of African development is super boring.
While Moyo will not be the first to speak about the ills and failing of aid in Africa, she remains a pioneer because she brought the topic mainstream. Freeing the debate from the holds of academia and the NGO elites. Dambisa Moyo said what many have always wanted to say, and she managed to look cool doing so. She deserves the rock star status that she has been accorded.
While some may criticize Dead Aid as not being robust enough, in covering the sunny side of aid in Africa, I enjoyed the single and direct story line. She made her point and beat it to a conclusive end.
The text is a starting point for those who are curious about Aid and its impact on the African continent.
