“Million Dollar Weekend: The Surprisingly Easy Way to Launch a 7-Figure Business in 48 Hours” by Noah Kagan
As Facebook's 30th employee, Noah Kagan once owned 0.1 percent of the company, now worth about $1 billion. Then, in 2006, he was fired. After eight months of floundering on his friend's couch, Kagan realized that failure had “liberated” him. “It ignited his desire to make it on his own,” he writes.in million dollar weekendKagan wants to light a fire under you now.
Kagan has since built an $8 million business, and the purpose of his book is to share his methodology. But before that, he says, every aspiring entrepreneur must throw away excuses, lose inhibitions, and dedicate a weekend to focusing on how to launch their own venture. “Just start,” he recommends.
million dollar weekend A lively read that provides a practical step-by-step guide to setting up a business and quickly finding product-market fit. But the truth is that this book contains few fresh insights that have not already been more comprehensively explained elsewhere.
Although his manic style may put some readers off, Kagan's main strength is his role as a motivational coach, encouraging readers to take the first step. “Achieving his dreams comes down to one question for him: How many times are you going to get back up after falling down?” he asks.
john thornhill
“Be More Productive: How to Do More of What Matters to You” by Ali Abdal
Ali Abdal was a young doctor working the Christmas shift alone, but his disciplined approach to productivity failed. His old mantra of working as hard as he can is what helped him start a business, get into medical school, and become an influencer all at the same time. But as this hilarious book recalls, it was no match for the chaos on NHS wards.
His “revolutionary” solution is “comfortable productivity.” Getting things done “doesn't necessarily mean suffering,” he says. When you're having fun, you can do better work more effectively. Success “doesn't make you feel good. Feeling good leads to success.”
Abdal's positivity shines through. His infectious style, fascinating anecdotes and research, and practical tips like embracing playfulness, enjoying the process, and taking time to recharge make this book a refreshing read. His final advice to experiment with what works for you, like the Productivity Scientist, makes the tasks he sets seem fun rather than tedious.
But some may wonder whether much of what's here is actually new. Few management books now recommend being miserable, and much of Mr. Abdal's advice is outdated. I also felt a bit exhausted by the suggestion that feeling good is not a good thing in and of itself, but that if you feel good, you'll do better at work.
That said, a reminder that having fun can have productive consequences is always welcome. And the abundance of tips for accessing the feel-good factor means that Abdal's book will be useful to many readers as well.
Bethan Staton
“The Six Disciplines of Strategic Thinking” by Michael D. Watkins
The advent of artificial intelligence means business leaders have access to new perspectives that were previously unavailable. It will also require new skills to leverage this new way of thinking and the right mindset as humans and AI systems work together to enhance decision-making and strategy.
With strategic thinking now essential for leaders seeking to anticipate and respond to challenges, this book provides a comprehensive and practical guide with rich insights for directors at all levels. .
The author, a professor of leadership and organizational change at IMD Business School in Switzerland, explains that strategic thinking is a skill that anyone can develop with the right tools. He explores his six mental health disciplines that constitute a more modern way of thinking strategically in the new global business environment.
The first three involve recognizing and prioritizing challenges and opportunities within an organization. This means the ability to observe and identify significant threats and opportunities. The ability to mentally model and predict complex situations. and skills to predict the actions and reactions of other stakeholders.
The other three areas focus on effectively mobilizing organizations and include framing problems and developing creative solutions. Imagine an ambitious but achievable future. Build alliances with stakeholders.
Each chapter provides clear illustrations and guides to help leaders think and contribute creatively in an ever-changing workspace, use emotional intelligence to implement results, and adapt to the looming human-AI relationship. It is supplemented with real-life examples.
leo cremonesi
“The Friction Project: How Smart Leaders Make Getting Right Easier and Getting Wrong Harder,” by Robert Sutton and Hagie Rao.
This is a fun and highly practical guide from two Stanford University professors on how to simplify, streamline, and eliminate the bad things that hold you back and reduce your productivity.
This is a great example of madness meeting bureaucratic consolidation. That includes the opening pop of his 1,266-word email (with a 7,266-word attachment) that Mr. Sutton and Mr. Rao received from the lieutenant governor. They write that it was “redundant, repetitive, confusing, and packed with defensive responses to past criticism,” but the book offers a great way to stop time-wasting horror stories. There is a lot of anger everywhere.
But red tape and a list of unnecessary rules can quickly become boring. friction project Even more so to recognize and analyze the opposite problem: too little friction. Sometimes speed can be your enemy. Sutton and Rao argue that it's important to pause, reflect, and sometimes even add hurdles to prevent hasty decisions.
The book's protagonists remain 'friction moderators', or 'custodians of how people spend their time', and their work in dealing with and anticipating obstacles to creativity and productivity is There is no end to it. Dropbox CEO Drew Houston declared “Armeetingeddon” in 2013 to eliminate wasteful meeting records for his staff. But by 2015, “the situation was worse than ever.” Sutton and Rao noticed that he was similar to mowing a lawn. “Regular maintenance [is] “This is necessary to stop ugly and excessive growth,” they wrote.
andrew hill
“Making It in America: The Near-Impossible Quest to Manufacture in America” by Rachel Slade
What does it take to manufacture in the United States in the 21st century? In the age of Amazon Prime and fast fashion, can production lines be efficient, competitive, and humane workplaces?
Rachel Slade tells the story of Ben Waxman, a young businessman who began making American-made sweatshirts with a unionized workforce after much of the textile industry, like all other manufactured goods, was exported overseas. tackles this issue through the stories of and Whitney Waxman.
This book is a timely look at the challenges of reviving American manufacturing. Industrial policies such as the Chip Act and the Anti-Inflation Act are spurring billions of dollars of investment in new factories for semiconductors and clean energy. But project delays, labor shortages and rising construction costs are early signs that this manufacturing revival will not be painless or achieved overnight. It's also unclear whether it would bring tangible benefits to most Americans.
Slade argues that the United States may have no choice but to reinvent things, arguing that “people can only innovate if they fundamentally and completely understand how things are made.” I can do it.'' Domestic manufacturing was central to America's founding, she writes, and Alexander Hamilton persuaded the First Congress that “the price of America's economic and political independence” was a combination of tariffs and subsidies.
Through the compelling story of the Waxman family, Slade explores the imprint that decades of neoliberalism and offshoring have left on the resilience of American workers and the economy. From Ben's idealistic youth working for a union to a couple driving up the East Coast in search of the last vestiges of America's textile network, Made in the USA enthusiasts and free trade hawks alike will love this book. He will support the couple's success.
Amanda Chu
Hannah Ritchie's “It's Not the End of the World”
How much harvest is left in the world? Claims from sources such as Defra, the United Nations and The Independent suggest that humanity will starve within a century, although it is impossible to say whether it is 30, 60 or 100 people. No wonder.
The problem is, according to it's not the end of the world Author Hannah Ritchie claims the claims are bogus, derived from unverified sources and misinterpreted research, and parroted and distorted in a well-intentioned game of Chinese whispers. .
Richie, a self-proclaimed optimist, has a hard time identifying himself as an optimist. do not have Climate change denier. Instead, it's not the end of the world It is intended to be an antidote to the excessive pessimism that pervades the climate debate. Just as climate change deniers sow the seeds of inaction, climate change prognosticators are equally alarming, and she almost gave up on environmental science altogether.
The real power of this book is that Ritchie unpacks, refutes, and contextualizes fatalist claims on issues such as air pollution, deforestation, and overfishing, and provides concrete solutions to solve these insurmountable problems. Now is the time to offer your suggestions.
Consider the dire state of Beijing's air quality, which was widely reported around the time of the 2008 Olympics. Air quality in the city subsequently improved after public outcry led to regulation of the industry and removal of dirty cars from the roads. Ritchie also recommends giving people access to clean cooking fuels, ending the burning of winter crops, and replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy and nuclear power.
But the final goal may sound familiar. it's not the end of the world Although this book does not claim to be a book about politics, a momentary awareness of problems such as state capture and financial constraints (which often impede the implementation of her solutions) This means that we will never be able to fully achieve its purpose of convincing us that: These problems are big and pressing, but they are solvable. ”
martha muir
