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Book 40: How to Win Friends & Influence People

Oz — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:25:57 +0000

Classic. Now I know why this book is on every best business books list ever made. It is direct and emphatic. Simple and practicable principles that will make you more effective when dealing with people. There are tonnes of example in the text to drive home the main point. And the main point is that, it is not always about you.
There are also tonnes of review online, Google it. This text is highly recommended to all who do not intend to live on an island by themselves.

Book 39: The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership

Oz — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:43:34 +0000

Simple and concise. John C. Maxwell’s The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You is well thought through. He describes 21 laws that one could follow in order to be a good leader. The laws are;
1. The Law of the Lid: Leadership Ability Determines a Person’s Level of Effectiveness
2. The Law of Influence: The True Measure of Leadership Is Influence – Nothing More, Nothing Less
3. The Law of Process: Leadership Develops Daily, Not in a Day
4. The Law of Navigation: Anyone Can Steer the Ship, but It Takes a Leader to Change the Course
5. The Law of Addition: Leaders Add Value by Serving Others
6. The Law of Solid Ground: Trust Is the Foundation of Leadership
7. The Law of Respect: People Naturally Follow Leaders Stronger Than Themselves
8. The Law of Intuition: Leaders Evaluate Everything with a Leadership Bias
9. The Law of Magnetism: Who You Are Is Who You Attract
10. The Law of Connection: Leaders Touch a Heart Before They Ask for a Hand
11. The Law of the Inner Circle: A Leader’s Potential Is Determined by Those Closest to Him
12. The Law of Empowerment: Only Secure Leaders Give Power to Others
13. The Law of the Picture: People Do What People See
14. The Law of Buy-In: People Buy into the Leader, Then the Vision
15. The Law of Victory: Leaders Find a Way for the Team to Win
16. The Law of the Big Mo: Momentum is a Leader’s Best Friend
17. The Law of Priorities: Leaders Understand That Activity Is Not Necessarily Accomplishment
18. The Law of Sacrifice: A Leader Must Give Up to Go Up
19. The Law of Timing: When to Lead Is as Important as What to Do and Where to Go
20. The Law of Explosive Growth: To Add Growth, Lead Followers – To Multiply, Lead Leaders
21. The Law of Legacy: A Leader’s Lasting Value is Measured by Succession
I like the general feel of the book, though some examples and thought processes now seem a bit dated. However the laws themselves still remain sound and useful. The downside however is that the scientists now tell us that humans are not capable of following 21 things. So that prioritizing or grouping these laws could really ease the implementation of the knowledge gathered from reading the book. Before running with these laws however, I will suggest prioritizing the laws to suit your own specific needs.
This text is a classic and there are relevant nuggets of wisdom in it for all.

Focus

Oz — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:46:30 +0000

Imagine entering the cock pit of a jet and seeing only one instrument there, how you would feel about boarding the plane after the following conversation.
Q. I am surprised to see you operating the plane with only a single instrument. What does it measure?
A. Airspeed. I am really working on airspeed this flight.
Q. That’s good. Airspeed certainly seems important. But what about altitude. Wouldn’t an altimeter be helpful?
A. I worked on altitude for the last few flights and I’ve gotten pretty good on it. Now I have to concentrate on proper airspeed.
Q. But I noticed you do not even have a fuel gauge. Wouldn’t that be useful?
A. You are right, fuel is significant, but I can’t concentrate on doing too many things well at the same time. So, on this flight I’m focusing on air speed. Once I get to be excellent at air speed, as well as altitude, I intend to concentrate on fuel consumption on the next set of flights.
Same goes for your life. Live a balanced life.
Adapted from “The Balanced Scorecard.

Book 38: The Knack

Oz — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 18:27:37 +0000

Thorough. Norm Brodsky and Bo Burlingham, both columnists at Inc. Magazine ( a fav. of min) chronicled the character and effort levels required to start a successful business. They approached the topic from angles, such as hiring, profitability and basic business intelligence. This is not a text to inspire you to start your own business, this is about the nuts and bolts, from folks who have done it themselves.
I took to the no nonsense tone of the text. The authors are not of the feel good, always right species, but more like see what we did, see how we goofed, what we ought to have done, and a sprinkle of some stuff we did correctly.
I enjoyed the text, and would have probably enjoyed it more if Norm and Bo included experiences from other business mentors aside from theirs. The Knack is highly recommended for those inclined to learn more about small businesses.

Chris Anderson Discusses the Future of Free

Oz — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 01:10:31 +0000

Chris Anderson the Author of the NYTimes Best seller ‘Free’ discusses the future of Free.

Book 37: Simple.ology

Oz — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 23:07:56 +0000

Enjoyable. Simple.ology: The simple science of getting what you want, scores high on concept and content. Though the ideas explored in the book may already be familiar to anybody remotely interested in the science of decision making, Mark Joyner set out to make a strong case, and as far as I am concerned he pulled it off. Reading this text was fun and fast paced. I enjoyed this style of presentation. The author explained the source of the problem being addressed thoroughly and only discussing the solutions in the concluding sections of the book.
His conclusion was as follows; when thinking about life goals, just do it. The straight line is the quickest route between two points. Choose your targets and be explicit about them before making your move. Focus all your attention on the chosen target. Focus all your energy on the chosen target. You really can not escape from actions and reactions.
I told you the ideas were simple and may be familiar, however one should not confuse simplicity and familiarity with the ease of mastery, and for that reason I recommend Simple.ology even if reading the text will only be a reminder of things you already know but aren’t practicing.

Dan Pink on the surprising science of motivation

Oz — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 21:32:41 +0000

Blog Action Day 2009: Climate Change

Oz — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:43:32 +0000

Actions to mitigate the negative consequences of climate change cannot be dictated to developing countries. Developed economies ought not to dictate expectations and therefore actions to check climate change to developing economies. The local gains global pains nature of climate issues present a unique challenge that waters down the potency of the carrot and stick method. Actions against pollution and unsustainable stripping of the earth’s natural resources will only succeed if the participants in this market are motivated from within. This is a volunteer market structure and bills and ordinance should be designed with the nature of the market in mind.
I believe the climate challenge, as it relates to developing economies, will only be resolved through listening to all parties and demonstration of the commitments of the more privileged parties. Developing countries want and need to be heard. They are looking for policy makers from the western hemisphere to objectively observe climate change issues through the lens of the challenges experienced by their not so affluent co-residents of planet earth. Secondly, demonstrate, show and demonstrate again. Pointing out the environmental damage caused by the chopping of trees used as cooking firewood while driving around in a gas guzzling SUV is questionable.
At some point we will have to listen and demonstrate how the new self sustaining environmentally conscious market will be structured. Wouldn’t it be more efficient to start today?

My entry for the 2009 Blog Action Day.

Book 36: Blue Ocean STrategy

Oz — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:53:48 +0000

Blue Ocean Strategy is exceptional. Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant by Kim Chan and Mauborgne, Renée tackles an esoteric topic in a manner that is easy to understand. This was my first exposure to the idea of blue oceans and red oceans. The logical arrangement of the text allowed for an initial overview and a subsequent detailed and more rigorous analysis of the blue ocean strategy.
Blue oceans strategy seeks to make direct competition among companies based on price and value less relevant through the introduction of value innovations. The strategy offers firms an easy to follow method by which they could ‘think outside the box’. In addition to these the authors offer a blue print for recognizing thoughts that result from thinking outside the box imposed by existing industry structure. The take away here is to be focused, divergence and compelling tag line.
I enjoyed reading about the differences between technological innovation and value innovation. This discussion was enlightening. This text is recommended to anybody remotely interested in the organization of markets, industries, and firms. The ideas shared in this book will most likely put a neat framework around the ideas you may have already toyed with. One of the best texts I have read lately.

Chimamanda Adichie: The danger of a single story

Oz — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:06:52 +0000

I enjoyed watching, I hope you do.