Overall, I benefitted from the book and found it had many good points.  However,  I did feel the author repeated himself a few times.  In addition, the book would have benefitted from having direct access to Steve Jobs as to oppose to someone just commenting on his technique.

That being said, I learned a lot about what Steve Jobs that I hope I can apply to next time I give a presentation.  There is no doubt Steve Jobs excels with his presentations!

Rating: 3.75/5

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Drive By Daniel Pink-4.5/5

Slide:ology By Nancy Duarte-4.5/5

Influence by Robert Cialdini-4.0/5

Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki-4.5/5

Key Learning

Give honest and sincere appreciation.

Audience: Everyone

Rating: 5/5

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Authors Chris Brogan and Julien Smith offer 7 Characteristics of a trust agent.

The book is organized nicely and is an interesting read.  The authors keep the book generic for the most part trying not to focus on modern technology.  However, they do offer some practical tips to apply now.

Key Learning

Trust is the most significant factor

Golden Advice

Often  with experimentation, the downside is very small, while the possible reward is very large.  So trying something new could you worlds of good.  You could hit upon small, news ways to connect or whole worlds of benefit and profit.

Audience: People who want to make an impact on the web

Rating 4.25/5

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This is the topic explored in the book by brothers Chip and Dan Heath entitled “Made to Stick.”

The book was awesome!  Very fun to read and very informative.  The book gives some examples that you will remember from tv commmercials and urban legends.  I loved this book and am waiting for their follow up book called Switch: How to change things when change is hard.

Key Learning:

SUCCCES!

Simplicity, Unexpectedness, Concretness, Credibility, Emotional and Stories.

Golden Advice

..the great thing about the world of ideas–any of us, with the right insight and the right message, can make an idea stick

Audience: Anyone who has a message to convey

Rating: 5/5

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In this book the author presents a methodology to  to have Stress-Free Productivity.  In Summary get things out of your head and record them.  This book is a must!  The methodology is excellent and logical.  It definitely helps keep you organized.  And now with many sofware packages based on GTD such as my favourite Things from Cultured Code.

Once you get using the system, it takes very little extra time and really keeps you on top of things.

Key Learning

Do-It, delegate it, defer it, drop it

Golden Advice

When you start to make things happen, you really begin to believe that you make things happen.  And that makes things happen.  David Allen

Audience: Everyone

Rating: 10/10

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Why are most hockey players born in the first part of the year?  Why are so many computer companies run by people around the same age?  These questions are answered in Outliers.  The premise of the book is that there are other factors that play a role in success not just hard work.  The theories posed in this book are at first extraordinary but logically make sense.  Malcolm Gladwell is in top form, the book is highly recommended.

Key Learning

10,000 hours it the magic number of greatness.  It takes about 10,000 hours of practice is required to achieve the level of mastery associated with being a world-class expert

Golden Advice

The successful are proejcts of history and community, of opportunity and legacy.  Their success is not exceptional or mysterious.  It is grounded in a web of advantages and inheritances, some deserved, some not, some earned, some just plain lucky-but all critical to making them who they are.  The outlier, in the end, is not an outlier at all.  Malcolm Gladwell.

Audience: Anyone

Rating: 9.5/10

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While there is nothing earth shattering in the book, the book is a classic Business book.  Why?  It gets you thinking of even things that seem pretty obvious.  However, when you actually pay attention to them it changes your outlook on life.  The book will also get you started on thinking about Time Management and Goal Setting.

I can’t stress enough the importance of knowing what your goals are.  How can you accomplish what you want if you don’t know what you want?

A quick summary of the 7 habits can be found here.

Habit 1: Be proactive.

Habit 2: Begin with the end in mind.

Habit 3: Put first things first.

Habit 4: Think win/win.

Habit 5: Seek first to understand, then to be understood.

Habit 6: Synergize.

Habit 7: Sharpen the saw.

Key Learning

Focus on things that are Important before they become Urgent.   This empowers you to do them on your own terms.  Ignore things that are not Important.

Golden Advice:

I have the power of choice. I can take initiative. I can set and achieve a goal. I am not a product of my past or my genetic make-up or the social agenda.

We are not our feelings. we are not our moods. We are not even our thoughts. We are a product of our choices.

Dr. Stephen R. Covey

Audience: Anyone

Rating: 9.5/10

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