Category: 1. Read ASAP!

1. Read ASAP! · Book Review Actions · Book Reviews · Novel Concepts and Interesting Research · Psychology

BR 92: Switch by Chip and Dan Heath

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Comments: Another masterclass by the Heath brothers. This book is a gold mine of learnings, stories and inspiration – under the excuse of ‘Change’. Switch aims to describe how to drive change when change is hard.

Top 3 Learnings:

If I went down the learnings path, I would go on forever.  At the time of writing, I have already featured 2 book learnings here , here and here. And many more to come. Rest assured, this book is top class.

2 lines that have stuck..

1. What looks like a people problem is often a situation problem.

2. What looks like resistance is often a lack of clarity.

And of course, the learning on Elephants and Riders is a paradigm shifter!

1. Read ASAP! · Book Review Actions · Book Reviews · Novel Concepts and Interesting Research · Psychology · Self Improvement

BR 87: Change Your Questions Change Your Life by Marilee Adams

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Comments: 1 week after buying this book, I gifted 7 copies to friends and family and 2 others bought copies thanks to me raving about it.

The best thing about this book is it’s simplicity and the fact that the book’s learnings can be synthesized into 1 key concept – The Choice Map – THAT is genius!

Top 3 Learnings:

1. We are the questions we ask ourselves. And it is only by changing our questions can we change anything.

2. Questions drive results.

3. At every moment, we have a choice between being a ‘learner’ or being a ‘judger’. A learner asks questions like ‘what can I do to improve the situation? What can I learn from this?’ while a judger asks questions like ‘Why are things so bad? Why am I so bad?’ leading us down a negative path.

The single most powerful idea for me from the book is that every time we feel negative (i.e. low energy, upset, angry, jealous etc etc), it is likely because we are asking ourselves ‘judger’ questions. (See The Choice Map) And the moment we catch ourselves feeling negative, we have the power to switch, ask ourselves learner questions and get positive!

Very powerful stuff.

1. Read ASAP! · Book Review Actions · Book Reviews · Business · Management · Novel Concepts and Interesting Research · Self Improvement

BR 85: First, Break All The Rules by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman

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Comments: Thorough and well researched piece of work. This books beautifully synthesizes 25 years of research into what it takes to be a ‘Great Manager’ and puts it in front of our eyes.

Top 3 Learnings:

1. The Greatest managers focus squarely on strengths

2. We gravely misunderstand the importance of ‘talent’. Conventional management tells us anything is possible and that if we set our mind to it, we can do whatever we want. Great managers understand that an attribute such as ‘calm under pressure’ is a talent and no amount of training can help hone it in people who don’t have that talent.

This ties right back to the 1st point. The simple idea is that we all have our own specific sweet spots – we need to find them and hone them!

3. Great managers build very close personal relationships with their top performers. How else can you get under their skin and push them? :)

And one last learning (this was a great book!), do check out the 12 questions.

1. Read ASAP! · Book Review Actions · Book Reviews · Psychology · Self Improvement

BR 81: Ready for Anything by David Allen

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Comments: Top class productivity book from the master. David Allen delves into the ‘why’ behind time management. He also cushioned the (expected) staid flow of content with tons of inspiring quotes. I loved it!

I loved this book it had lots of simple ideas to streamline our productivity and workflow with a focus on ‘why’ rather ‘what’. In his classic book, Getting Things Done, David Allen focused more on the ‘what’ – practical tips and trips. This book focuses a lot more on the science behind it – how our brain works and how we can use this knowledge to alleviate stress and get things done!

1. Read ASAP! · Book Review Actions · Book Reviews · Business

BR 79: Too Big To Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin

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Comments: I was hesitant to read this as I was not a fan of finance related books then. While the financial crisis intrigued me, I still wasn’t convinced if I was prepared to go through an 18 hour audio.

This book, however, is riveting. It is the financial crisis from the perspective of the massive characters/egos who battled hard to save the world from a complete meltdown. The book got me feeling up close and personal with all Wall Street CEO’s like Fuld, Dimon, Pandit, Mack, Blankfeid etc, key US treasury, federal officials like Paulson, Geithner and the like. It took me on an emotional journey that had me smiling at Jamie Dimon’s tact and diplomacy, marveling at the real power and weight that Goldman Sachs carries with it, gasping at the holes in AIG’s balance sheet  and feeling sad at Dick Fuld’s fate along with that of Lehmann Brothers. I can go on forever on this book.. it is one of the best books I have read, period.

And full credit, of course, to Andrew Ross Sorkin as it is rare to come across a book so well written.

 

1. Read ASAP! · Book Review Actions · Book Reviews · History

BR 55: A Splendid Exchange by William J Bernstein

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Comments: There are many different kinds of books. Some, like the ‘7 Habits of Highly Effective people’, can change the way you think about life and yourself. Those are very impactful, of course. But, if you are looking for a book that would change the way you looked at the world, it’s history and how it ended up in it’s current state, there are probably few books that can match ‘The Splendid Exchange’. This is a classic!

The book is a story of the world from the eyes of trade, and traders. In essence, it is a history of the world presented from a different (and you might argue, more balanced) lens.

If I had to mentally think of a list of the best books I’ve read, this book would be right up there – regardless of genre or type.

Add on Mar 16, 2016: Thoughts of reading this book still gives me goosebumps. I feel like I should go back and re-read this at some point.

1. Read ASAP! · Book Review Actions · Book Reviews · Psychology · Self Improvement

BR 51: You don’t have to be born brilliant by John Mcgrath

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Comments: Fantastic book. It is extremely high on impact and inspired me to no end to get disciplined and start designing systems to manage myself. This is the story of an Australian real estate entrepreneur who had the  lowest scores  in the Australian school system but ‘made it’ thanks to enormous amounts of self discipline.

It is, to me, the tale of a millionaire (not an obscenely rich one) who manages to focus on family and business thanks to tremendous amounts of focus and, of course, self discipline. I love the systems he’s got in place to manage himself.

Add on Mar 16, 2016: It was my first “systems thinking” book and had a huge impact on the way I approach life.

1. Read ASAP! · Book Review Actions · Book Reviews · Philosophy

BR 49: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

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Comments: The Alchemist is one of the best selling books of all time and it isn’t without reason. Very touching, very metaphorical yet, very real. The book tells the journey of a Spanish sheperd who decides to follow his dream of finding a treasure. This is fraught with complications, of course, as it requires him to go to the pyramids and as a result, cross the Sahara desert. And that journey is one that changes his life..
(Saying any more would spoil the plot if you haven’t read it)

This is one of those books that deserves to be right on top of your priority list. I remember being SO excited to finish listening to this book (especially thanks to the fascinating narrative) that I finished the book in 2 sittings  – the 2nd of which involved forsaking sleep so I could get to the end of the story.

My favorite quote – “And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”

1. Read ASAP! · Book Review Actions · Book Reviews · Novel Concepts and Interesting Research · Philosophy · Self Improvement

BR 47: The 7 Habits of highly effective people by Stephen R Covey

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Comments: The 7 Habits is the best book I’ve read – judging by its impact on my life. It’s not a book to be ‘read’ – it’s a book to be ‘studied’. I liken it to a manual that gives you a new way of thinking about life. And your approach can make all the difference in the world. You can look at it as a book wherein you expect to find a cool concept or two to apply, and that’s what you’ll find. You can look at it as a book you’re reading JUST because a few others recommended it and expect to find nothing amazing, and hey, guess what – that’s what you’ll find.

Or you can read it expecting it to give you ideas that will change your life, and that’s exactly what you will find.

In this book, I found many a framework which has helped me think about life. The guiding framework of moving from being a kid -> being a “teenager” of sorts (independence) -> being an adult (interdependence) was powerful. Lots of very meaningful stories and tons and tons of wisdom.

These are 3 things that changed within me post reading the book –

1) Got me started on changing my mentality to one that believed in abundance and hence, gradually took me away from the ‘envy’ path to the ‘happiness’ one.
2) Got me to write my own set of principles to live life by and follow them.
3) Got me to start ‘responding’ to every situation rather than ‘reacting’ to it by drilling in the concept that I had full control over my response to any problem.

And lots more – but these are probably the 3 biggest areas of impact. Give the book a chance and I’m sure you’ll never regret it!

Add on Mar 16, 2016: Many years since I studied this book, all of what I’ve written here still holds true. An incredible book.

1. Read ASAP! · Book Review Actions · Book Reviews · Psychology · Self Improvement

BR 29: Stop clutter from stealing your life by Mike Nelson

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Comments: I loved this book! This was fantastic because I had this habit of accumulating lots of clutter purely because I used to never throw away stuff all that easily. As I was listening to this book, I remember I went on this de-cluttering exercise where I threw away half of my existing ‘stuff’. And since then, I have been regular at decluttering and keeping just the essentials!

What to expect: A very practical book that explains the science behind accumulation of clutter through many stories and a book that I personally found VERY inspiring! :)

Add on Mar 16, 2016: A full 8 years or so after reading this book, it continues to inspire a relatively minimalist way of live.