Illuminating and forward-thinking; demonstrates how to leverage gig workers for time-saving life tasks.
A veteran of big tech extols the virtues of the gig economy.
Estes, who held a senior position at Microsoft, uses this lively debut as a soapbox for a kind of career–personal life equilibrium he says can be achieved through adopting a “Gig Mindset.” If the gig economy is “fundamentally changing the world of work,” then the Gig Mindset “changes the way we work forever,” writes the author, who advocates employing “on-demand experts to reclaim our time.” Estes discovered the value of relying on talented freelance professionals to get things done, and it revolutionized his life. He cleverly developed a process to take full advantage of the gig economy that he calls “The T.I.D.E. Model: Taskify, Identify, Delegate, and Evolve.” Using engaging, motivational text supplemented by examples primarily from his own experience, the author walks readers through these four elements in detail. Of great interest are the excerpts of interviews he conducted with a panel of five senior executives, each of whom provides commentary that enriches and shapes the Gig Mindset conversation. T.I.D.E. itself is an intriguing concept; still, each of the four elements has intrinsic value that applies to business management in general. For example, Estes discusses a concept he calls “radical delegation,” which involves setting expectations, developing timelines, and trusting others to execute tasks. He offers seven specific steps he recommends for practicing effective delegation. Regarding the need to think differently, GE executive Dyan Finkhousen tells Estes: “The truth is that engaging with gig resources required an evolution of our own mindsets and behaviors.” The author wraps up the book with some key observations by his panelists and himself about negative perceptions surrounding the gig economy. Tucker Max, bestselling author and co-founder of a publishing service called Scribe Media, says about the myth implying freelancers are subpar: “That people are freelance because they can’t get a full-time job. It’s nonsense….In fact, we find overall the freelance pool to be far higher talent than the people applying” for full-time jobs. Two appendices—gig-related tasks for business and home—are useful additions.
Illuminating and forward-thinking; demonstrates how to leverage gig workers for time-saving life tasks.Pub Date: Jan. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5445-0632-6
Page Count: 310
Publisher: Lioncrest Publishing
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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