Because the business counsel doled out remains spot-on, this book should instruct, inspire, and motivate and encourage...
A collection of thoughts on entrepreneurship targets the aspiring business owner.
Imagine sitting down for a chat with someone who has built several companies internationally and is quite willing to share his experience. That pretty much describes this book by Gruhn (Power Play: How to Plan, Fund, Grow and Sell Your 21st Century Business, 2009), who says he amassed the more than 90 short entries “over the course of roughly 500 days.” In no particular order, the volume veers from one idea to another, covering a considerable range of topics under such chapter headings as “A Business Plan Doesn’t Mean S***,” “Toxic People—Stay Away From Us!,” “The Tone Defines the Tune,” and “The Unspoken Words You Need to Hear.” Preceded by an illustration and followed by a blank page labeled “What Are Your Thoughts?” each chapter is typically no more than several paragraphs long. What the book lacks in bulk, however, it makes up for in quality. At times provocative, the thoughtful and thought-provoking text is casual and conversational yet meaningful and impactful. Pearls of wisdom abound, such as: “Share your victories and you will never stand alone in your defeats,” “The people I have encountered who follow their heart without compromise tend to be the happiest,” “To me, entrepreneurship is the constant will and unquenchable thirst to create something of sustainable value,” and “It’s hard to identify other people’s realities, but if you do, you will win every single time.” To some, this may feel like a potpourri of one-liners with no central theme to anchor it. But Gruhn is generous with his advice, forceful in unleashing his opinions, and exceedingly direct in his writing style. He has a natural ability to turn a phrase and express himself clearly even as he explores complex matters of ethics and character. The end result is a lively book that should lead, guide, cajole, and exhort an entrepreneur to press on, no matter what the odds.
Because the business counsel doled out remains spot-on, this book should instruct, inspire, and motivate and encourage reading, rereading, and extensive highlighting.Pub Date: July 10, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5352-1787-3
Page Count: 414
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Aug. 4, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our...
A psychologist and Nobel Prize winner summarizes and synthesizes the recent decades of research on intuition and systematic thinking.
The author of several scholarly texts, Kahneman (Emeritus Psychology and Public Affairs/Princeton Univ.) now offers general readers not just the findings of psychological research but also a better understanding of how research questions arise and how scholars systematically frame and answer them. He begins with the distinction between System 1 and System 2 mental operations, the former referring to quick, automatic thought, the latter to more effortful, overt thinking. We rely heavily, writes, on System 1, resorting to the higher-energy System 2 only when we need or want to. Kahneman continually refers to System 2 as “lazy”: We don’t want to think rigorously about something. The author then explores the nuances of our two-system minds, showing how they perform in various situations. Psychological experiments have repeatedly revealed that our intuitions are generally wrong, that our assessments are based on biases and that our System 1 hates doubt and despises ambiguity. Kahneman largely avoids jargon; when he does use some (“heuristics,” for example), he argues that such terms really ought to join our everyday vocabulary. He reviews many fundamental concepts in psychology and statistics (regression to the mean, the narrative fallacy, the optimistic bias), showing how they relate to his overall concerns about how we think and why we make the decisions that we do. Some of the later chapters (dealing with risk-taking and statistics and probabilities) are denser than others (some readers may resent such demands on System 2!), but the passages that deal with the economic and political implications of the research are gripping.
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our minds.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-374-27563-1
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2011
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These are not hard and fast rules, but Meyer delivers important reading for those engaged in international business.
A helpful guide to working effectively with people from other cultures.
“The sad truth is that the vast majority of managers who conduct business internationally have little understanding about how culture is impacting their work,” writes Meyer, a professor at INSEAD, an international business school. Yet they face a wider array of work styles than ever before in dealing with clients, suppliers and colleagues from around the world. When is it best to speak or stay quiet? What is the role of the leader in the room? When working with foreign business people, failing to take cultural differences into account can lead to frustration, misunderstanding or worse. Based on research and her experiences teaching cross-cultural behaviors to executive students, the author examines a handful of key areas. Among others, they include communicating (Anglo-Saxons are explicit; Asians communicate implicitly, requiring listeners to read between the lines), developing a sense of trust (Brazilians do it over long lunches), and decision-making (Germans rely on consensus, Americans on one decider). In each area, the author provides a “culture map scale” that positions behaviors in more than 20 countries along a continuum, allowing readers to anticipate the preferences of individuals from a particular country: Do they like direct or indirect negative feedback? Are they rigid or flexible regarding deadlines? Do they favor verbal or written commitments? And so on. Meyer discusses managers who have faced perplexing situations, such as knowledgeable team members who fail to speak up in meetings or Indians who offer a puzzling half-shake, half-nod of the head. Cultural differences—not personality quirks—are the motivating factors behind many behavioral styles. Depending on our cultures, we understand the world in a particular way, find certain arguments persuasive or lacking merit, and consider some ways of making decisions or measuring time natural and others quite strange.
These are not hard and fast rules, but Meyer delivers important reading for those engaged in international business.Pub Date: May 27, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-61039-250-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2014
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