Category: Psychology

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BR 76: Drive by Daniel H Pink

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Comments: Dan Pink shares a new wave to look at ‘drive’ and ‘motivation’. In essence, he begins the book by illustrating old ideas behind motivating people (eg: throw money at them) and then proceeds to discuss the theory behind motivation 2.0 i.e. that people are motivated by a) autonomy b) mastery and c) purpose..

This book is well summarized in this popular video by RSA Animate.

Add on Mar 16 2016: What I love about Dan Pink is that he takes a complex topic like “Drive” and motivating people and boils it down to 3 things – autonomy, mastery and purpose. This is incredibly hard to do and he does it really well.

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BR 68: Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson

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Comments: I can see why this is a classic. It uses a very simple-to-relate story (of 2 rats and 2 little humans and their quest for cheese – where cheese is equated to income/ success) to convey a powerful message. It deals with our natural resistance to change and how we could turn that around to an attitude that welcomes change.

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BR 54: Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

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Comments: I’m not sure if I missed something here but I didn’t find this all time classic all that impressive. I wonder if one of the reasons it was ground breaking was because it was ahead of it’s time but most of the concepts didn’t seem new. The only novel idea I remember at the moment is Hill’s emphasis on control in personal (i.e. love and sex) spheres of life and how it can often make the difference between success and failure.

The book had a lot of stories about the richest men in US at the time told by a very patriotic American. Lots of simple ideas and concepts made it easy to get through.

This is an all time classic. So, I’m sure you will not regret buying it and reading it. I just didn’t find it as fabulous as I thought it would be.

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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.

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BR 50: The Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

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Comments: A typical Malcolm Gladwell book – a mish mash of well presented facts that lead to a whole number of well organized conclusions – laced with engaging stories that makes the book just a very good read.

What to expect: Bits of research that success comes from a combination of factors – luck, background and the presence of an opportunity to work very very hard (read 10,000 hours).  There were lots of memorable stories – like those of Gates, Jobs as well as a whole host of interesting insights like the connection between the success of sports people and their birth months as well as the investigation of the reasons behind frequent ‘Korean Air’ plane crashes . The book presents many little nuggets to remember.

Add on Mar 16, 2016: I realized over the years that there was one large flaw in the 10,000 hour rule. It isn’t just about the hours. It is about “deliberate practice” during the hours. As I learnt about the original research by Anders Ericsson, I think I felt Outliers over sold it a bit. Still a really good read and likely his most popular work.

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BR 43: The Power of Creative Intelligence by Tony Buzan

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Comments: I enjoyed reading the book – short, easy to get through and high on impact. It convinced me that I was a creative genius and hidden (deep) inside was a great artist, musician, poet and the like. :-) Most importantly, inspired me to try a hand at poetry for a while and encouraged me to take a few ‘creative’ shots! In this book, Tony Buzan attempts (rather successfully in my view) to convince us that we are all brimming with creativity and ideas that only got stamped out of us because of some unfortunate incident as a child. The book tries to bring out that creativity and encourages us to practice it regularly.

It was a fun read.

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BR 42: How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

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Comments: I can hear all the anti-self help/self improvement activists scream right now. And before I give my comments, let me give you a warning – this book is very preachy. It is also true that this book doesn’t delve into the human psyche like the ‘7 Habits of highly effective people’, for example, among other books. This book is purely focused on the personality side of things and yes, you can ‘fake’ all those ideas in the book and yet, they might just work.

Having said that, this book offers a starting point for those who have difficulty connecting with people. And if that is not enough, the book makes it easier for us (thanks to many many stories) to understand why people are the way they are. And as a result, we are then empowered to use all the ideas and traits mentioned in the book in our day-to-day life.

And, while it can be argued that anyone can adopt most of the principles by ‘pretending’ or ‘faking’ it, I doubt anyone can do so without being found out in due time. If you care, it shows.

My view was simple – if we can even fully understand and implement principles that are consistent with our styles, we would likely be more successful socially and professionally than we are now. Principles vary from ‘Never criticize’ to ‘Compliment people’ among many others. Simple in theory, difficult in action.

If you haven’t read it, I’d still recommend buying it and read it. And if you still don’t like it, that’s still fine. I believe you will be richer by this experience. At the very least, just make sure you read the ‘Father Forgets’ letter twice. :)

Add on Mar 16, 2016: I think I’ve become less and less a fan of the book over time. However, I still think it is worth reading it to understand what the fuss is about. I definitely learnt a thing or two from the book. And, as a psychology oriented book, it was definitely well ahead of its time.

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BR 41: How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie

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Comments: If you are a worry-wart like I was when I read this book, I’d definitely recommend checking it out. To put this in context, this book was written during the ‘Great Depression’  – so there were likely a lot of worried people then. The book had many simple ideas and stories and thoughts on how to execute them. Ideas that stuck with me were to ‘live in 24 hour compartments’, ‘stop rushing’  among others.

Again, at a time when I was prone to worrying a lot, the book was definitely positive.

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BR 39: Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath

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Comments: Great book. In many ways, it felt like a continuation of ‘The Tipping Point’ by Malcolm Gladwell but is a fantastic stand alone as well. It is exceptional as it brings about a framework for ideas that stick that is not too hard to apply in our own lives if we are disciplined enough.

What to expect: Lots of examples and proof that the ‘SUCCES’ principle is what makes great ideas stick. Great ideas are  S(imple), U(nexpected), C(oncrete), C(redible), E(motional) and are packaged in a S(tory).

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BR 34: Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi

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Comments: Good book. It clarifies that networking is really caring more than a next person, and that it can go a long way in taking you far in life!

What to expect: The story of a person who made it big thanks (in big part) to fantastic networking ability honed with time. It was an eye opener for me as it clarified what networking really is – making an effort to reach out, connect and care. And most importantly, it made me realize that keeping in touch is, and requires, hard work!!

Do I recommend this book?: Very good book. Almost a great one – not so much on the story line but very high on learnings and impact! :)

Add on Mar 16, 2016: This was one of the first business books I read. Definitely had a positive impact!