book review 1

Lately I have been reading a lot of business strategy books.  I find them helpful, and interesting.  I like to learn about how the world (let's face it our world is a business) works, and what makes people do the things they do.  If I had known economics was more about people, and less about money I may have taken an econ class at college. 

This past summer I read and very much enjoyed two different books from this genre.
 
First,  START WITH WHY by Simon Sinek.  The book observes how successful and effective leaders, and their companies are successful and effective because of a clear understanding and execution of WHY they do what they do.  A driving mission and purpose that we do not loose site of makes a huge difference.  As much as this is a "Oh Duh!" thought it is something we often loose and forget in business.  It made a big impact on me!  I found myself reexamining why I want the things I want, and why I think I want to do the things I do.  It was great to sit down and refocus myself from that point.

The book had a lot of interesting things to say on how the human brain works in decision making, and the impact that has on customer, and our business.

I wholeheartedly recommend it.  Also- Simon Sinek's twitter is great if you'd like a worthwhile twitter feed, and one less toxic twitter feed.

Next is THE ART OF POSSIBILITY by husband and wife Benjamin Zander and Rosamund Stone Zander.  They both are successful in their individual fields, but come together nicely in the book to share a single message.  Rosamund is an executive coach, and family systems therapist.  Benjamin is the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic.  You may be wondering- what do those have in common, and what the heck is this book about?  Well- in a broad sense- they both spend a lot of time with people, and working at getting groups of people to work together.   The book is laid out in a very clear way- going through different practices we can use in our lives to change the way we think about the world, other people, and work.  It was a little difficult for me to get started, but once I did I loved it.  It inspired me to think more positively, and to believe that things are possible BEFORE I believe they are impossible. 

Again, I wholeheartedly recommend it.

What have you read lately?  Any suggestions for me?

I'm currently reading DRIVE, and next on the list is SWITCH.  I'll let you know how those turn out.
 

Until Then.

I love you.