Book notes: The New One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard & Spencer Johnson

The One Minute Manager book summary by Marlo Yonocruz

The New One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard & Spencer Johnson

Synopsis:

“For decades The One Minute Manager has helped millions achieve more successful professional and personal lives. While the principles it lays out are timeless, our world has changed drastically since the book’s publication. The exponential rise of technology, global flattening of markets, instant communication, and pressures on corporate workforces to do more with less – including resources, funding, and staff – have all revolutionized the world in which we live and work.

Now Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson have updated The One Minute Manger to introduce the book’s powerful, important lessons to a new generation. In their concise, easy-to-understand story, they teach listeners three very practical secrets about leading others and explain why these techniques continue to work so well.” -Amazon


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Opening thoughts:

This was another one of those personal development classics I’ve heard about several times. I’m a huge fan of anything which has a great longevity in its value. Even though this book might be dated, I’m sure the principles would still be relevant to challenges in today’s world. Moreover, it’s another short read, just like Spencer Johnson’s book I just finished Who Moved My Cheese? and I needed a short book to stay on schedule for my monthly reading.

Key notes:

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Book notes: The Secrets of Power Negotiating by Roger Dawson

The Secrets of Power Negotiating book review summary by Marlo Yonocruz

The Secrets of Power Negotiating by Roger Dawson

Synopsis:

“Negotiation is a skill that can bring you vast success in all aspects of your life. When you’re a skilled negotiator, you can get the best possible price on everything you purchase or sell, and you can deal with salespeople or clients.

We’re all negotiating all the time in all kinds of everyday situations: parents negotiating with their children; employees negotiating with each other, with subordinates, with bosses; customers negotiating with salespeople or service providers. And with The Secrets of Power Negotiating, you’ll always have the upper hand in every negotiating situation in which you find yourself.

For example, the program gives you specific ways to:

  • Get the best possible price when you buy or sell a house, a car, a business, real estate, or any negotiable item.
  • Get a raise or promotion.
  • Keep employees happy without giving in to unreasonable demands.
  • Get a new and better deal with your landlord or mortgage loan officer.
  • Stop being stonewalled by store clerks, petty bureaucrats, service and repair people, and others.
  • Get more cooperation from your corporate peers and subordinates.
  • Get bigger loans and better terms from your banker.
  • Uncover valuable “hidden information.”
  • Be more confident in virtually any interpersonal situation.
  • Plus many other situations you run into in your daily life.” -Audible

Opening thoughts:

I’m a huge believer in the benefits of learning negotiation principles. In the company I currently work at, I worked in the negotiations department for almost a year when I first started and developed a ton of great skill sets I still use today. Understanding influence, social dynamics, and the principles on how to work with others is extremely invaluable, which is why I decided to add this to my reading list this month.

Key notes:

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Book notes: How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid

How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia book summary by Marlo Yonocruz

How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid


Synopsis:

“The astonishing and riveting tale of a man’s journey from impoverished rural boy to corporate tycoon, it steals its shape from the business self-help books devoured by ambitious youths all over “rising Asia”. It follows its nameless hero to the sprawling metropolis where he begins to amass an empire built on that most fluid, and increasingly scarce, of goods: water. Yet his heart remains set on something else, on the pretty girl whose star rises along with his, their paths crossing and recrossing, a lifelong affair sparked and snuffed and sparked again by the forces that careen their fates along.

How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia is a striking slice of contemporary life at a time of crushing upheaval. Romantic without being sentimental, political without being didactic, and spiritual without being religious, it brings an unflinching gaze to the violence and hope it depicts. And it creates two unforgettable characters who find moments of transcendent intimacy in the midst of shattering change.” -Amazon


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Opening thoughts:

Another Tim Ferriss recommendation. Apparently, this book is supposed to have a unique twist to conventional self-help books in that it tells the fictional story in the first person. I believe I heard him reference this book twice in his podcasts so I decided to put it on my list. I chose it for my February list just to add to the variety of my reading this month.

Key ideas/notes:

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Book notes: Open by Andre Agassi

Open book summary by Marlo Yonocruz

Open: An Autobiography by Andre Agassi

Synopsis:

“From Andre Agassi, one of the most beloved athletes in history and one of the most gifted men ever to step onto a tennis court, a beautiful, haunting autobiography.

Agassi brings a near-photographic memory to every pivotal match and every relationship. Never before has the inner game of tennis and the outer game of fame been so precisely limned. Alongside vivid portraits of rivals from several generations—Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer—Agassi gives unstinting accounts of his brief time with Barbra Streisand and his doomed marriage to Brooke Shields. He reveals a shattering loss of confidence. And he recounts his spectacular resurrection, a comeback climaxing with his epic run at the 1999 French Open and his march to become the oldest man ever ranked number one.

In clear, taut prose, Agassi evokes his loyal brother, his wise coach, his gentle trainer, all the people who help him regain his balance and find love at last with Stefanie Graf. Inspired by her quiet strength, he fights through crippling pain from a deteriorating spine to remain a dangerous opponent in the twenty-first and final year of his career. Entering his last tournament in 2006, he’s hailed for completing a stunning metamorphosis, from nonconformist to elder statesman, from dropout to education advocate. And still he’s not done. At a U.S. Open for the ages, he makes a courageous last stand, then delivers one of the most stirring farewells ever heard in a sporting arena.

With its breakneck tempo and raw candor, Open will be read and cherished for years. A treat for ardent fans, it will also captivate readers who know nothing about tennis. Like Agassi’s game, it sets a new standard for grace, style, speed, and power.” -Amazon.

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Book notes: Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins

Awaken the Giant Within book summary by Marlo Yonocruz

Awaken the Giant Within (abridged) by Anthony Robbins


Synopsis: “Anthony Robbins already has unlocked the personal power inside millions of people worldwide. Now in this revolutionary new audio production based on his enormously popular Date with Destiny™ seminars, Robbins unleashes the sleeping giant that lies within all of us — teaching us to harness our untapped abilities, talents and skills.

The ultimate program for improving the quality of every aspect of your life — personal or business, physical or emotional — Awaken the Giant Within gives you the tools you need to immediately become master of your own fate.” -Amazon

Opening thoughts: Tony Robbins always delivers. I’ve had this book on my list for awhile now, but kept putting it off because I don’t like reading the abridged version of anything. I figured that based on the reviews, I’m sure it would deliver value and cover some of the main points of the full version. At the same time, I felt I needed something short to offset Open, which was 18 hours long.

Key ideas/notes:

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Book notes: Influence by Robert Cialdini

Influence book summary by Marlo Yonocruz

Influence: Science and Practice, ePub, 5th Edition by Robert B. Cialdini, Ph.D.


Synopsis: “Influence: Science and Practice is an examination of the psychology of compliance (i.e. uncovering which factors cause a person to say “yes” to another’s request).

Written in a narrative style combined with scholarly research, Cialdini combines evidence from experimental work with the techniques and strategies he gathered while working as a salesperson, fundraiser, advertiser, and in other positions inside organizations that commonly use compliance tactics to get us to say “yes.” Widely used in classes, as well as sold to people operating successfully in the business world, the eagerly awaited revision of Influence reminds the listener of the power of persuasion.

Cialdini organizes compliance techniques into six categories based on psychological principles that direct human behavior: reciprocation, consistency, social proof, liking, authority, and scarcity.” – Amazon

Opening thoughts:

Another book that was recommended by Ramit Sethi in one of the Tim Ferriss podcasts I was listening to. Based on the synopsis, I figured it would be one of those books that discusses a topic with scientific and anecdotal support. Most likely, it would cover the key ideas that surround what influences people as it might relate to marketing and sales. At least, I’m sure the insights Ramit got from it could be applied to sales and marketing.

Key ideas/notes:

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Book notes: The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz

The Hard Thing About Hard Things book summary by Marlo Yonocruz

The Hard Things About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz


Synopsis: Ben Horowitz, cofounder of Andreessen Horowitz and one of Silicon Valley’s most respected and experienced entrepreneurs, offers essential advice on building and running a startup – practical wisdom for managing the toughest problems business school doesn’t cover, based on his popular ben’s blog.

While many people talk about how great it is to start a business, very few are honest about how difficult it is to run one. Ben Horowitz analyzes the problems that confront leaders every day, sharing the insights he’s gained developing, managing, selling, buying, investing in, and supervising technology companies. A lifelong rap fanatic, he amplifies business lessons with lyrics from his favorite songs, telling it straight about everything from firing friends to poaching competitors, cultivating and sustaining a CEO mentality to knowing the right time to cash in.

Filled with his trademark humor and straight talk, The Hard Thing About Hard Things is invaluable for veteran entrepreneurs as well as those aspiring to their own new ventures, drawing from Horowitz’s personal and often humbling experiences.

Opening thoughts:

Again, I found this book through listening to Tim Ferriss’s podcast when he interviewed Mark Andreessen and this book came up. The reviews looked good and so far all of the books I’ve read from the podcast were great. It definitely had a weird title, but I really wasn’t sure what to expect.

Key ideas/notes:

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Book notes: Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi

Never Eat Alone book summary by Marlo Yonocruz

Never Eat Alone, Expanded and Updated: And the Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time by Keith Ferrazzi

Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi

Synopsis: Do you want to get ahead in life? Climb the ladder to personal success? The secret, master networker Keith Ferrazzi claims, is in reaching out to other people. As Ferrazzi discovered in early life, what distinguishes highly successful people from everyone else is the way they use the power of relationships – so that everyone wins.

Opening thoughts:

Again, this was a book I heard on a Tim Ferriss podcast recommended by Ramit Sethi. If I remember correctly, this was one of the three books he recommended for budding entrepreneurs.

At first, I thought this book would be about why you should eat with other people and the benefits. But as the second part of the title suggests, it’ll probably focus on strategies for success based on building relationships. I imagine that there will be a ton of good tactics on developing relationships.

Key ideas/notes:

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