Buying and selling continues to soar - Infograph.
Rewarding failure – A Dangerous Pattern. – HBR
Writing that mission Statement check out this video – FastCompany
I have been playing with the Google Public Data Explorer. So far I have been very satisfied, I will be way more content as more data sources get added.
business
12
Mar 10
031202010 Links
8
Mar 10
Book 51: Leadership and Self Deception
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.
4
Mar 10
03042010 Links
Scott Anthony writes about analysis paralysis. I like this simple story, with a little modification of my own. Rigorous analysis should not be discouraged in the name of innovation, asking tough question should be encourage but pushed a bit further up the process of innovation. Past the idea generation phase, but acting as a filter in the development phase. This will save the entire firm the headache of running with different ideas in too many direction. How to Kill Innovation.
Does your firm collect data because they are available or are does you data tell a story. Do You Need All That Data?
Daniel Pink on the Pronoun Test.
4
Feb 10
Forecast
The chart above shows the budget forecast for the US economy overlaid with what really happened in the last 28 years. The whiskers are the predictions and the solid line shows what really happened. Macro economic forecasts are useful but are mostly inaccurate. Why then are public debates conducted as if budget forecast were the Holy Grail?
When next you hear anyone make authoritative statements about the future if the US economy, just remember that chances are that they are wrong. And the farther into the future those predictions go the more certain you can be that they will miss the mark.
Macro economic forecasts are right as long as there are no economic corrections. On the other hand corrections are what make capitalism tick.
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.
27
Jan 10
What Is In A Name?
Resort? Hotel? To attract business conferences in these tough times, some luxury resort hotels have resorted to a sort of strategy of last resort: They’re dropping the very word “resort” from their names. Nothing has changed, same level of service offering and the same products.
In 2010 businesses will return to the basics. Focusing on core products and creating real value. The lessons learned from the excesses of the last couple of years will cause corporate decision makers to rethink the approach to waste. A few hotels have placed their bets against frugal. Time will tell if they turn out to be right or bankrupt.
WSJ
22
Jan 10
Simplicity
I enjoyed watching this video. The subject is relevant and timely. I hope you like it too.
21
Jan 10
Unlearn Your MBA
Interesting perspective from David Heineimeier Hansson, the creator of Ruby on Rails and partner at 37signals in Chicago. He says that planning is guessing, and for a start-up, the focus must be on today and not on tomorrow. He argues that constraints–fiscal, temporal, or otherwise–drive innovation and effective problem-solving. The most important thing, Hansson believes, is to make a dent in the universe with your company.
19
Jan 10
Lessons Learned
The failure movement is on the up and up. “Embrace failure”, ”You can not succeed without failing.” ” He who has not failed as not tried,” is the mantra amongst gen-Y Entrepreneurs. A fallout of the steadily falling cost to experiment with new ideas. Most new ideas are built on bytes and the cost of bytes is steadily approaching zero, the cost of experimenting is mostly the experimenters’ time. While I remain unconvinced that this approach is efficient. Personally the possibility of failure in itself is a motivational. The real threat to an entrepreneur is the fear of failure which results in inaction. Oftentimes inaction equal fail.
The Failure Movement will benefit from taking on the much more difficult task of addressing how to benefit from the lessons learned from failed ventures. The coaches need not stop the sermon at, failure is good. Failure may be okay. However, documenting and revising ones tactics after a failed venture is more beneficial. Failing repeatedly is quite a common occurrence.
In my books fail is not good, learning from failure is key.
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.
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.
