How to Win Any Argument
My main problem with the book is that it bombards you with anecdotes to the point that the I felt the message was lost. This meant that I found there was very little I could take away from it and ended up wondering what the point was.
Don’t get me wrong, examples are good. I remember reviewing a book a while ago that barely had any examples, and that was hard going. But … please, please, please don’t just give anecdote after anecdote and leave me to decipher the message myself. I never was any good at cryptic crosswords.
I like to balnace my book reviews with positive and negative. I’ve covered the negative, so let’s see what I can come up with for positive:
- The style of the book is easy going, making it a pretty easy read (something I’m always keen on!)
- The anecdotes are quite interesting, so if that’s something you feel you would enjoy then this could be the book for you
However, I’ll have to say that it’s not the book for me. Having read it I don’t feel that I’m any more equipt to win arguments.
Rating: 
GRASP the Solution
Before I give my thoughts on the book itself, I would just like to say – what a beautifully put together book! It is clear that a lot of thought has been put into the presentation of the book and it really makes it a joy to read. It combines good quality white paper with a great use of colour and attractive images throughout. You can tell that it’s been produced by people who really understand how good use of colour and imagery can help fix the ideas in your mind. And the text is a comfortable size, which is something that is important to me.
Now, I am going to have to throw some negatives in here as well. I hate to say it but I did find this 290 page book a bit too long-winded. It took me far too long to read with the result that I don’t feel like I can fully implement the system without working through it again. In my opinion it spent too much time trying to convince you that the system works, to the point where I was thinking ‘yes, I believe you, now please tell me what to do!’. I would have been happier with a short introduction outlining the whys and then a succinct description of how to follow the system. Because the book is laid out so well I really feel like that shouldn’t be the case, but I think what it comes down to is that there is just too much of it. Maybe that makes me a lightweight, but I like my business books to be short and snappy with something that I can take away and use straight away – this really should have been the case with this book, but instead I find myself really wanting to implement the system but not having a clear idea of how to go about it.
However, that said, I do think that the system it outlines is brilliant. I keep using the word ‘system’ and that is what it is. I love the fact that it’s offering a systematic way of achieving creative thinking – some people might argue that systematic and creative don’t go together, but I think that it’s inspired to offer it in such a way. It definitely strikes a cord with me because I am a systematic person – I’m an obsessive list-writer and get stressed if things aren’t approached in an organised way. So, the idea that I can use a system to unleash my creativity (which I’m sure is lurking there somewhere) is incredibly appealing to me.
What it has brought home to me is that when trying to think up ways to move our business forward (which is something I do very regularly) I always come up with the same ideas, which in itself can be disheartening. But, it doesn’t mean that they aren’t the only ideas, it’s just that I haven’t tapped into my mind to bring out the creative alternatives. The GRASP the Solution system is absolutely ideal for this.
So, in conclusion, this is a book that I did like, but with some reservations. Do read it, but don’t expect it to be a quick read. I would suggest making notes as you go along so that you’ve got the important points to refer back to. I really should have done that myself so I could be implementing the system right now.
Rating:
Buy “GRASP the Solution” from Amazon >
Great time management article
Just found this great article on time management by TentBlogger: My Time Management 101. Definitely worth a read.
Every now and then I try categorising my tasks as:
- Urgent & Important
- Urgent & Not Important
- Not Urgent But Important
- Not Urgent & Not Imporant
but end up with everything being ‘Urgent & Imporant’ or ‘Not Urgent But Important’. I guess everything seems important to me! Is that because I only do important things (probably not) or just that I have difficulty seeing anything as not important?
For example:
- making that update to a client’s website is obviously important and needs to be done as soon as possible (though isn’t necessarily urgent)
- however putting an invoice I’ve just paid through our bookkeeping software can wait indefinitely, but is still important – after all we need to keep our accounts up-to-date so we know where are financially
Both of those I would put in the ‘Not Urgent But Important’ box, but it’s clear which one needs to get done first. Problem is I end up with 50+ tasks in the ‘Not Urgent But Important’ box and then I start struggling with how categorising them in that way helps me. Oh dear, time for some time management angst…
Actually, the important thing is that I know what needs doing. I’ve got a system that I trust to record all my tasks, and, yes there’s a lot of them, but they’re not going to get forgotten. I just need to review the list regularly and make sure that the most important things get done first.
Relaxed on the inside?
How’s this for achieving relaxation inside and out? Last night I downloaded a guided relaxation recording to help me sleep. It was doing really well – had started at my feet and worked up to my head and I was really beginning to feel the benefit. And then the narrator started on the internal organs – being told to relax my intestines was just too much for me. I’m sorry but being told to relax my insides would have been enough for me, without naming my organs. Is it me or is that a bit weird?
Think I need to find a different recording…
Power of an Hour
But that’s my own interpretation before even reading the book. Power of an Hour is much more detailed than that – it’s all about using the power hour as a catalyst for change. The author takes you through various aspects of your life and business, with a view to you spending an initial hour on each and forming a plan for consistently moving in the right direction. Very inspiring.
I have to say that I haven’t methodically worked through the book yet – just had one quick read through. At the end I was very tempted to go straight back to the start and follow each hour. However, I’ve got a fear that if I do so I’ll come up with all sorts of ideas for improvement, with a detailed action plan for each, and end up with an even scarier to-do list than I’ve already got. What I don’t want to do is overcommit and end up not doing what I’d planned … yet again. Instead, I’m using the power hour concept to work through my current task and project list with a view to clearing the decks ready to throw myself into the process whole-heartedly.
If you are feeling like you need some help making improvements in your life and/or business then I would recommend reading this book (and perhaps even following it!). I’ve certainly taken quite a bit away from just one reading, even if I haven’t yet followed it to the letter.
Rating:
Buy “Power of An Hour: Business and Life Mastery in One Hour A Week” from Amazon >
What’s Stopping You?
What an interesting book! And what a refreshing change to read a book that doesn’t say “follow these steps and it will change your life” but instead gives an overview of techniques from various sources.
The idea that Robert Kelsey puts forward is that self-help books are flawed because they offer a quick fix when there is no such thing as a quick fix. BUT that they are not worthless – the techniques they use can help you improve if used in the right way. What a refreshing concept and one that makes me thing that it’s ok that I haven’t turned into superwoman, despite all the self-help books I’ve read. There’s hope for me yet, but maybe setting a goal of becoming superwoman isn’t the right goal for me…
The premise of the book is that people are split between High AMs (achievement motivation) and High FFs (fear of failure). The author explains why he is a High FF and the book is aimed at other High FFs (because High AMs don’t need it). This is something that I struggle with as it means that I must have a high fear of failure – not sure that I’m willing to accept that label but let’s not dwell on that. Whether I want to put myself in that bracket or not, the book is extremely engaging and applicable to anyone who is interested in self-improvement.
What did I particularly like about this book?
- The personal detail – the author uses his own experiences to provide examples – it’s worth reading just for that
- The idea that no one self-help book will have all the answers (I can’t help it, I’m going to use the word ‘refreshing’ again)
- The intelligent commentary on self-help techniques – all with citations. What a comprehensive coverage. Some of the books cited I have read and some I now want to read (or read again)
What’s Stopping You? definitely provides food for thought. I haven’t put it down thinking “this is what I need to do to achieve my goals”, but it’s not as easy as that is it? However, I feel that with a more considered reading I will be able to form a solid plan. There is no doubt that this is a book I will come back to time and time again.
Rating:
How to improve your productivity
I think it’s fair to say that improving our productivity, efficiency and time management is one of my obsessions. Can never resist reading something that might give me some pointers. With that in mind I was thrilled to find an article this week about improving productivity for web design businesses – it’s like the article was written just for me! As it turns out the article is equally relevant to any small business so I highly recommend it. Here’s a blog post I’ve written on the Webfooted Designs blog about it: Great article on producitivity.
How to Start a Business from Scratch – an insider’s guide
I’ve had my ups and downs with How to Start a Business from Scratch by Stewart Jacobs. I’ve had moments of “that’s a good point, must remember that” and moments of utter bewilderment. My verdict is that the book has definite value … but it could definitely do with work in certain areas.
Shall I start with the good stuff or the bad stuff? Let’s start with the negatives so that I can end on a positive note.
One of the things that I found astounding is that there are practically no examples used throughout the book. Lots of statements of fact but no scenarios to back them up. A simple example is that he mentions you should get a domain name but doesn’t give an example of what a domain name is. I say “practically none” because there are a couple of instances that I can think of where the author mentions a couple of example businesses. Examples, real life or otherwise, would have helped with my understanding of the points made and with engaging me with the content of the book. As it was the style was easy but unexciting.
One area which I felt was strong (which I’ll touch on below) was financial information – in this case some example calculations were given (yay for examples!) but the figures were given as percentages which I found difficult to get my head round. Some made-up figures would have been much easier to grasp I think.
To round up the negatives, I’d say the book is more theoretical than practical, and one of the things I particularly look for in a business book is practical application.
That being said it does (as I mentioned above) have value. The author gives an overview of all the areas you need to consider when setting up a business. It might not give you all the detail you need but it is a good overall guide. What’s more the author has the courage to cover the less exciting areas of setting up and running a business. Although one of my criticisms is that the book is unexciting, the flip side of this is that it isn’t afraid to mention the areas (such as cash flow forecasts) that are less sexy. This is something to look out for in other startup books I think – I do like a book that is inspirational but do some of them run the risk of sexing it up a bit too much and missing some important info?
In particular I was particularly keen on the coverage of financial management. I picked up on this because it’s an area that I need to do some more work on myself. When talking about finances for startups it’s easy to get caught up in the ins and outs of bookkeeping – important but what about monitoring your finances so that you know exactly where your business is at? That’s what this book does well – the advice is to use a bookkeeper for the day-to-day bookkeeping but to have a system in place to oversee and monitor the business finances. Some of the techniques mentioned are exactly what I’ve been looking for (and haven’t found recommended elsewhere in other general business books) so I’ll definitely be going back over them and seeing how I can adopt them … using real figures of course not just percentages.
How to Start a Business from Scratch is not an in depth guide to starting a business but it does cover a lot of ground. You may find yourself crying out for more detail to clarify what the author means in certain areas, but if you use the book as a guide to what you need to cover you can fill in the detail from elsewhere.
So, not a particularly inspiring book but one which is worth keeping on your shelf as a reference.
Rating:
Buy “How to Start a Business from Scratch an Insiders Guide” from Amazon >
Back on track
I’m pleased to say that we’ve got our worklog back on track. Digging out the previous week’s backup did unearth a couple more missing tasks but I’m now feeling much more confident that it’s up-to-date. The lesson I will take away from this is to not mess with Excel filtering on a vitally important spreadsheet – from now on I’ll always work on a copy if I want to manipulate the data. Not the most efficient way of working, but much more efficient than having to recreate a broken spreadsheet!
Technology or human error?
I’ve just discovered something rather worrying. We track our current task list on a spreadsheet which we call our ‘worklog’. It’s a central place for us to record everything that needs doing, whether it’s client work or business tasks, which we can both access. The idea is that we have a reliable place to track the jobs we need to do rather than keeping it all in our heads or on random bits of paper. We’ve been using it for a few years now and it’s worked really well for us. Until this morning…
What I discovered this morning is that a load of what was in there has been duplicated and a load of other stuff has gone missing (and not because they’re tasks we’ve completed). Eek! I’m trying to figure out if it’s something I’ve done but there’s so much wrong that I can’t see how I could have accidentally done it without noticing. Or is it because I was using some filtering to inspect different parts of the list? But filtering a spreadsheet shouldn’t mess with the data should it?
What’s going on??
I’ve spent the last hour removing duplicate entries and brainstorming anything that should be on there … but the whole point of it is that I shouldn’t have to remember everything so I’m sure there will be things I’ve missed. Might have to dig out last week’s backup, but of course that will only give me what was included a week ago, a lot of which we would have done anyway. Am also going through emails from clients to make sure I’m not missing anything there.
What a nuisance!
