Category: Novel Concepts and Interesting Research

2. BUY it! · Book Review Actions · Book Reviews · Creativity · Novel Concepts and Interesting Research · Psychology

BR 102: A Whole New Mind by Dan Pink

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Category: 3 – SHELF it (All Categories are 1 – Read ASAP!, 2 – BUY it!, 3 – SHELF it, 4 – SOMEDAY it)

Comments: A compelling read. I am a fan of Dan Pink’s work and this one didn’t disappoint.

Top 3 Learnings:

1. Dan Pink’s thesis is simple – we moved from the era of physical labor to the era of the left brain where logical abilities were paramout. Now, we’re moving to the era of the right brain where abilities like creativity will take centre stage.

2. Here’s a learning on the importance of the ability to tell stories from the book.

3. Creativity is like a muscle. The more we engage it, the more we will develop it.

A compelling book with a clear thesis. I’ve read it 6 years late. But still worth reading!

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

BR 100: The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt

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Category: 1 – Read ASAP! (All Categories are 1 – Read ASAP!, 2 – BUY it!, 3 – SHELF it, 4 – SOMEDAY it)

Comments: Fitting that the 100th book review would be about one of the best books I have read.

Top 3 Learnings:

1. Emotions trump logic ANY day! The relationship between the two is akin to a rider atop an elephant. If the elephant (emotions) decides to go some place, the rider makes up reasons to go to that place.

2. We all have natural thresholds for happiness. Some have higher thresholds – that’s natural. What that means is that our happiness levels fluctuate between a range. And it gives us a simple goal –  stay on the top end of the range!

3. Everything in moderation..

4. Little things done daily have huge impact on our happiness. Keeping a journal, reflecting, counting our blessings etc

I really could go on. This is one of those books that you will never regret reading. A true masterpiece. Go get it.

3. SHELF it · Book Review Actions · Book Reviews · Novel Concepts and Interesting Research · Psychology · Self Improvement

BR 98: The Law of the Garbage Truck by David J Pollay

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Category: 3 – SHELF it (All Categories are 1 – Read ASAP!, 2 – BUY it!, 3 – SHELF it, 4 – SOMEDAY it)

Comments: One of those simple concept books that gave me a lovely light hearted framework to look at situations. Enjoyed it.

Top 3 Learnings:

1. There are a lot of people out there who walk around with pent up emotions, frustrations, anger i.e. garbage. As this garbage piles up, they are constantly looking for an excuse to dump on other people. Don’t take it personally. Wish them well and move on.

2. ‘Wish them well’ is very important. That means we make sure we don’t take it in. If we take it in, we process it. And garbage is not worth processing.

3. We are all guilty of dumping/venting from time to time. We just have to make sure we let the other person know that that’s what we’re doing!

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BR 97: Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton Christensen

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Category: 3 – SHELF it (All Categories are 1 – Read ASAP!, 2 – BUY it!, 3 – SHELF it, 4 – SOMEDAY it)

Comments: This is a very important book. If you have any interest in the internet/ innovation/entrepreneurship, this one is a must read.

Top 3 Learnings:

I’m going to be lazy here and link to Mark Suster’s top learnings.

This book is probably among the best books out there to understand how the internet is changing our lives.

3. SHELF it · Book Review Actions · Book Reviews · Novel Concepts and Interesting Research · Psychology

BR 94: Gifts Differing by Isabel Briggs Myers

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Priority: 3 – SHELF it  (All Categories are 1) Read ASAP! 2) BUY it! 3) SHELF it 4) SOMEDAY it)

Comments: A book that really resonated when I read it – explains the “why” behind Myers Briggs. I had a whole post dedicated to it on my long form blog.

Top 3 Learnings:

1. We are all different. We have VERY different ways of seeing the world. Not right or wrong. Just different.

2. It is very helpful to understand the different kinds of characteristics in people because it helps us understand ourselves.

3. And when we begin to understand ourselves and our preferences, we begin to be more accepting of ourselves, and the world around us.

Add on Mar 16, 2016: A few years after reading this, Myers Briggs Type Indicator is trashed by nearly every self respecting psychologist. It still doesn’t change my view on the book much – it still taught me a lot and helped me understand my own introversion at a time when I needed just that.

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BR 93: The Purple Cow by Seth Godin

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Category: 3 – SHELF it (All Categories are 1 – Read ASAP!, 2 – BUY it!, 3 – SHELF it, 4 – SOMEDAY it)

Comments: I love Seth’s daily blogs more than I do his books – for some reason. I think the daily dose of “Seth-spiration” is something that just doesn’t come off as much in his book.

Top 3 Learnings:

1. Innovation is the only way forward. We have to create an offering that’s a ‘purple cow’ i.e. extremely special!

2. Companies often lose focus after creating a purple cow. They sacrifice uniqueness for profits. E.g.: Starbucks

3. Many memorable examples of companies that have created such incredible products. One that comes to mind is Schindler Elevators which ask you to type in the floor you’d like to get to first and then directs you to the list that would take you there fastest – thereby saving valuable lift space. (now commonplace)

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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Category: 1 – Read ASAP! (All Categories are 1 – Read ASAP!, 2 – BUY it!, 3 – SHELF it, 4 – SOMEDAY it)

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!

2. BUY it! · Book Review Actions · Book Reviews · History · Novel Concepts and Interesting Research

BR 91: The Lessons of History by Will Durant

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Category: 2 – BUY it! (All Categories are 1 – Read ASAP!, 2 – BUY it!, 3 – SHELF it, 4 – SOMEDAY it)

Comments: A truly fascinating read. I was debating whether or not to put this into Category 1. It just missed the cut.

The most fascinating thing about this book, for me, is that this is literally historian Will Durant’s thesis – a thesis of his life. Will and Ariel Durant try to put together the lessons they have learnt from all their studies and bring it all together brilliantly.

Top 3 Learnings:

1. Competition is a natural order. We only collaborate to compete better. The world is Darwinian. Character only arises once basic needs are met.

2. What was a great trait in the past is likely to be a weakness in the present. For example, a very virile brute of a man would have been THE asset in earlier times when physical survival and passing on your sperm mattered most. In today’s world however, he would just be a dumb mannerless brute.

3. Resources (like intelligence) are always scattered unfairly. As a result, a small proportion of the world will always control it. There is no such thing as equality in nature.

4. As a result, religion matters greatly because it is what ensures the masses keep faith. (Will Durant predicts a period of social unrest within decades because of falling faith in Christianity in the 1960s when this is written and my jaw dropped as I thought of the period of social unrest we are having right now)

5. Respect for tradition is something he feels he would take more seriously if he had to ‘do it all over again.’ It is the tension between youth and old age that advances our civilization after all and he acknowledges that as he’s getting older, he has increased respect for traditions.

Some of his observations and predictions are truly amazing. And as you can see from the extra 2 learnings, this was a fantastic book!

 

PS: It’s been a while since I’ve updated this. Lots of exciting books but a lack of time. More to follow..

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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Category: 1 – Read ASAP! (All Categories are 1 – Read ASAP!, 2 – BUY it!, 3 – SHELF it, 4 – SOMEDAY it)

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.

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BR 86: Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

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Category: 3 – SHELF it (All Categories are 1 – Read ASAP!, 2 – BUY it!, 3 – SHELF it, 4 – SOMEDAY it)

Comments: Classic Gladwell – very journalistic with a few pretty powerful stories and example. I am not entirely sure if the book is entirely accurate but it does succeed in communicating a few key learnings.

Top 3 Learnings:

1. Snap judgments are innate. We make them about everything. The point of differentiation between a snap judgment we make about strawberry flavored ice cream with that of an ‘expert’ is that we will never be able to explain (correctly) as to how we arrived at that judgment. When you become an expert in a field, you hone your gut in a way that a novice cannot match. (understandably)

The application is apparent when we ask for customer feedback. Asking a customer whether they like a food item on display may work well but asking them to rationalize why would probably take us down an unwanted path.

2. The product is the packaging. I was pretty amazed by some of the examples here.

One that comes to mind is – When 7UP was sold in bottles with a yellowish shade, they had customers complaining that there was too much lime – even if there was no change in the drink!

That explains why the famous Pepsi taste challenge failed because drinking Coke out of a Coke can means something entirely different to drinking Coke out of a plastic un-labelled glass.

3. Going back to the fact that snap judgments are innate. It reminded me of a question a friend of mine posed – We are all innately discriminatory (color, race etc). How do we stop those judgments from taking control of us the moment we see a symptom? That one’s just ‘food for thought’.