3. SHELF it · Bio/Autobiographies · Book Review Actions · Book Reviews · Leadership · Management

BR 5: Straight from the Gut by Jack Welch

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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 was, in many ways, my first business book and I enjoyed reading it. Jack Welch as an energetic, all action approach to story telling and it does describe his way up the corporate ladder all the way to becoming one of the greatest CEO’s ever during 20 years at General Electric.

What to expect: An insight into Jack Welch’s personality. As a reader, you can feel the strength of his persona all through the book, especially when he talks about pet topics like differentiation, implementing six sigma, training GE leaders, empowering people etc.  The book is very interesting for the most part though it does tend to drag in some parts when he begins describing some mergers and acquisitions in unnecessary detail.

2. BUY it! · Book Review Actions · Book Reviews · Psychology · Self Improvement · Skills

BR 4: Getting Things Done by David Allen

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

Comments: The big issue I faced here was that the audio book was narrated by David Allen himself and it just turns out that he’s a narrator who put me to sleep about 3 times. Having said that, the ideas in the book are very powerful and I’m sure reading the paper back would mean a whole different set of learning.

Top Lessons: 3 powerful concepts have stuck:

i) Maintain a bin: A bin is a place where you shelve ALL ideas/thoughts that require action. This makes sure you are always focused on the currrent job. So, whenever there is a new smart idea, it is filed away and reviewed again when it’s time to prioritize

ii) Inbox 0: The highest source of stress is an inbox with many emails. Make sure the number of emails is always 0! ‘Impossible!’ – you may cry. What about emails that need follow up/whose action is not in your control?

iii) Make a WIP folder: WIP is my own term for ‘Work in Progress’. You know what it’s for of course.. the aim is to keep the inbox to 0 emails.

Add on Mar 16, 2016: A full 8 years later, these 3 lessons are still critical in how I approach getting things done.

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

BR 3: Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

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

Comments: This books needs no review but just in case you haven’t read it, I hope you do. If you are a movie person, Oprah Winfrey’s done us a great favor by making a lovely 100 minute odd movie out of it as well! The link to the first part of 11 is here. I’ve watched the movie 5 times till date and would not hesitate watching it again soon..

What to expect: A reflective and philosophical journey. The story is a real life tale of a student who has built a career as a successful journalist and all of a sudden sees his old university Professor, his first real mentor and inspiration, on TV being interviewed as he’s fighting a deadly disease. Morrie Schwartz, his professor, on the other hand is on a mission to make the most of what remains of his life and after much deliberation thanks to not having kept in touch for 16 years, Mitch decides to go down and meet his Professor. And it’s then that Morrie teaches his last lesson, a lesson in life..

3. SHELF it · Book Review Actions · Book Reviews · Marketing

BR 2: How to become a Marketing Superstar – Jeffrey J Fox

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

Comments: Jeffrey J Fox’s style is throw in many ideas in concise small chapters and he does so in this book as well. It’s a quick and easy read with a lot of simple-to-apply marketing concepts laced with a few nice stories. Having said that, it is not a book that has had so much impact!

What to expect: Many byte-sized marketing learnings with quite a few being easy to apply. For eg: Always talk about how much a customer would lose rather than gain. Clear, concise and easy to get through book.

Do I recommend this book?: Shelf it.. until you feel you’d like to get down to designing a flyer or a brochure..

1. Read ASAP! · Bio/Autobiographies · Book Review Actions · Book Reviews · History · Leadership

BR1: The Virtues of War – A Novel of Alexander the Great by Steven Pressfield

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

Comments: There’s only 1 word for this audio book – ‘Riveting’! While the narrator definitely plays a huge part in making this book such a fascinating read, let’s give due credit to Steven Pressfield for an inspirational take on Alexander’s life.

What to expect: A detailed story of the life of the all-conquering Macedonian monarch, Alexander the Great, with lots of excerpts and stories which you are sure to remember for a long time. The book gives us an in-depth understanding of the personality of the great conqueror and is a definite lesson in leadership!

Add on Mar 16, 2016: 9 years after reading the audio book, I’d still recommend the audio book thanks to fantastic narration. I remember the experience of listening to this book well and it still gives me goosebumps.