In Search of Excellence: Lessons from Americas Best Run Companies, by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman (ISBN 0446385077)

A little bit on the dry side, but well worth it if you have the time. I read this one a while back and had to flip through it again to refresh my memory... and I'm glad I did. Consider this book to be the Consumer Reports/JD Power for companies back in the early 80's. It is still studied at some business schools.

The premise.

In 1982 Tom Peters and Robert Waterman released a study of 43 firms that had been rated excellent by passing a series of "business tests" they had devised. They concluded in In Search of Excellence that there were 8 keys to excellence that were shared by all 43 firms.

The 8 Keys to Excellence:

1. A bias for action
Do it. Try it. Don’t waste time studying it with multiple reports and committees.

2. Customer focus
Get close to the customer. Know your customer.

3. Entrepreneurship
Even big companies act and think small by giving people the authority to take initiatives.

4. Productivity through people
Treat your people with respect and they will reward you with productivity.

5. Value oriented CEOs
The CEO should actively propagate corporate values throughout the organization.

6. Stick to the knitting
Do what you know well.

7. Keep things simple and lean
Complexity encourages waste and confusion.

8. Simultaneously centralized and decentralized
Have tight centralized control while also allowing maximum individual autonomy.

All managers / directors / CEO CTO CFO's should re-read this one.

Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, by David Allen (ISBN: 0142000280)

This is an excellent book. If you find yourself overwhelmed with too much to do and not enough time, or just find yourself disorganized frequently, his system is a great start. You should really just go buy this one.

First he recommends you go out and get yourself a label maker, a bunch of folders, and get them ready.

The process will take place in five big steps. Take this seriously for a second...

(1) collect
(2) process
(3) organize
(4) decide
(5) act
REVIEW weekly.

To recap.

(1) collect
Clear your head of any thoughts you have to do related to work, life, love, spirituality, friendships, bills, and collect of of these thoughts on separate pieces of paper. use recycled paper.

(2) process
Then process this giant pile... your inbox... into folders. Follow Allen's two-minute rule. If there's anything you can do right now in two minutes or less, then do it now, thus freeing up your time and mind. See also: Quadrant 1 (Covey). The reason some of us can't sleep well he says, is because there are a lot of leftover "to-do" floating around in our head.
Everytime you have a thought, make a commitment, or get a new responsibility - write it down.

(3) organize
Is it simple or complex?
Simple Issues: schedule time to solve problem (will it take 1 hr or 3-4 hours?)
Complex Issues: break into simple issues, schedule like above into a calendar.
He uses a Palm Pilot / Pocket PC like device (maybe even a tablet PC at times).
Create a "waiting for" list for things that require other people's time.

Schedule your tasks and create folders for everything (label makers make it fun).

(4) decide
Can you finish it in two minutes? if yes, finish it. If not, keep it see above.

(5) act
Follow your schedule and live your life... don't worry if you screw up, review weekly and you will get better.

He also recommends creating a folder for things you want to do someday/maybe. I added sailing to my someday/maybe and ended up taking a class on sailing this past summer.
Thanks Dave!

How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Every Day, by Michael J. Gelb (ISBN: 0440508274)

Although we cannot all be Leonardo's or even "Renaissance Men," we can all strive to get a little more curious, intelligent, and open about our expectations of ourselves. Or you could change your name...

Although the title of this one is a bit over-reaching, I walked away from this book (actually audiobook on CD) feeling exciting about trying to listen to some new music and to get back into shape. Sensazions galore. You might try it for whatever it might bring out in you!

Like another famous book reviewed earlier, this one lays out seven principles for success.

* Curiosita: An insatiably curious approach to life.
* Dimonstratzione: A commitment to test knowledge through experience.
* Sensazione: The continual refinement of the senses, especially sight, as the means to clarify experience.
* Sfumato: A willingness to embrace ambiguity, paradox, and uncertainty.
* Arte/Scienza: The development of the balance between science and art, logic and imagination ("whole-brain thinking").
* Corporalita: The cultivation of ambidexterity, fitness, and poise.
* Connessione: A recognition and appreciation for the connectedness of all things and phenomena; "systems thinking."

How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life, by Alan Lakein (ISBN: 0451167724)

This book starts strong and reads quick. The first line of the book is "Time is Life". This is an older and less packed version of Seven Habits, but people started buying it again recently because Bill Clinton, in his autobiography, My Life, said it was the only "How To" he ever read. People with a lot they want to accomplish personally and professionally would be advised to read a book like this every month or so.

It's a simple, easy to understand book that provides a simple system of personal organization that is workable and makes sense.

Here are some of the highlights.

1. Establish SMART goals for yourself. Goals should be specific, measurable, achieveable, related/relevant, and time framed.

2. Prioritize your goals.

"A" goals are the most important to you.
Plan on spending 80% of your time to achieve them.

"C" goals are less important. This includes sitting on your butt, watching TV, shopping. This is where Lakein argues that most people waste their lives.

To switch the 80/20 ratio from C to A, he recommends making a daily "to do" list and always start with "A's," not "C's." things that don't matter. We may be efficient, but Lakein suggests that our goal is to do what matters most and become effective. "Work smarter, not harder" is the mantra he wants us to repeat and couple that saying with his last piece of advice --"Do it now."

Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell (ISBN: 0316172324)

Why do courts rely on "expert testimony?" Because experts often have the right experience to make quick judgements about their field of expertise, and be right most of the time. Most people would be wise to save their money on this one, however...

This would be a great book for the perfectionist who thinks it's better to get everything right before making a decision - this book reinforces quick-thinking, snap-judgements (provided the experience is there), and a concept called thin-slicing. In a few words, thin-slicing is simply defined as trusting your instincts.

The smartest thing Malcolm writing this book is that he followed it quickly after "the Tipping Point" (review coming soon) so he is guaranteed to get huge numbers of buyers due to his increasingly strong brand. Unfortunately I believe it also weakens his brand, because it lacks the same punch and "wow" that the Tipping Point offered.

There. I've saved you $15.
















Ahnold - mid blink.

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen R. Covey (ISBN: 0671708635)

Read this one if you haven't. It will open your eyes to the power of these business books. Lots of good stuff in here.

The seven habits are as follows:
(1) Be Proactive:
get a personal mission and follow it instead of sitting around on your ass. Counterpoint- sitting on your ass could be your personal mission... hmm.

(2) Begin with the End in Mind:
before you set out on a mission, get a set of GOALS in your head. sitting on your ---?

(3) Put First Things First:
prioritize your activites based on Covey's quadrants... see below.

(4) Think Win/Win:
In business and in life, seek agreements that make everyone happy.

(5) Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood:
Listen to people. They often come from a different background than you so give them a little room for mistakes. Familiarity breeds comfort.

(6) Synergize:
Actively seeking out people who are different from you in order to learn from them and benefit from their strengths... i.e. the 1+1=3 theory

(7) Sharpen the Saw
Keep you mind sharp by reading, writing, keeping yourself balanced across your personal, work, community, and spiritual commitments.

More about Habit number 3:

Life and work items fall into one of four "quadrants".
1: Urgent and Important
2: Not Urgent and Important
3: Urgent and Not Important
4: Not Urgent and Not Important



The goal is to focus on quadrant 2 - Not Urgent and Important.

This way you can control your own life.

You can focus on a task such as managing your finances or getting your car's tires rotated or proactively meeting with customers to get their input - before losing touch of what is important and issues can escalate out of control...

Covey says too much of our time is spent in other quadrants. Personally, I think he misses by not discussing the value of a little quadrant 4 every now and then. Which I am going to do right now.

update: here's another 7 habits for successful people