Brief Book Brief
Business Books:
Four Steps to the Epiphany – By: Steve Blank
The Little Red Book of Selling: 12.5 Principles of Sales Greatness – By: Jeffrey Gitomer
No Ego: How Leaders Can Cut the Cost of Workplace Drama, End Entitlement, and Drive Big Results – By: Cy Wakeman
The New One Minute Manager – By: Ken Blanchard, Spencer Johnson
I’m old and past half dead but am still trying to suss out the sweet spot between running a successful business and staying true to myself and what I think a “helping professional” should be. It’s why I hate the stupid word (business) and will for spates of time avoid it like the plague. I know the balance of what’s in my heart and soul and the ability to buy food and shelter, but the world has confirmed that song is sung by nearly everyone, most of whom will turn their own mother upside and violently shake her pockets empty if it benefits them. How do I not come across like that…like everybody else? Guess what. I never will. All I can do is prove myself to our folks every day to the best of my ability.
So yes. I am reading business books. Because I believe very much in what we are selling. Balance allows people to live more fulfilling and maybe at times happier lives. What we get paid is something else. Gitomer said people hate being sold. People love to buy. We can sell our clients on themselves and everyone benefits. $#^%! I’m a business guy! $#^%!
Disclaimer: It amuses me to no end that at the end of every chapter telling you not to sell (hard, aggressive, etc.) the pitch comes anyway…go to my website…put in your email address…get ready to be sold something. Seriously trying to not be that.
Some quotes from the books:
“Build it and they will come,” is not a strategy; it’s a prayer.”
― Steve Blank
“Celebrate effort, not victory.”
― Jeffrey Gitomer
“Our circumstances aren’t the reasons we can’t succeed. They are the circumstances in which we must succeed.”
― Cy Wakeman
“Yes. However, remember—productivity is more than just the quantity of work done. It is also the quality.”
― Kenneth H. Blanchard
Recommended. Especially if you’re a business moron like me. You won’t like/enjoy them but might get some useful challenges.
