Weird is the new normal. Mass is dead.
And the rich, who is anybody who can afford to buy stuff or do stuff for fun, are no longer embracing the mediocre middle of the bell curve.
Posts Under: Book Reviews
My Secret Life on the McJob: Book Review
Jerry Newman of University of Buffalo (courtesy of UB Faculty Experts)
Imagine a 57 year old management professor donning the uniform of an undercover fast food worker for 14 months. Opting for this “hardship” research project during his sabbatical, he goes through seven jobs in burger chains like McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s.
Along the way, the professor discovers “powerful truths about what makes businesses great” and provides lessons from behind the counter “guaranteed to supersize any management style”.
Heart, Smarts, Guts, and Luck: Book Review
What are entrepreneurs and business builders made of? Who should you bring to your team at different stages of growth, and why?
The answers, according to venture capitalists and business leaders Anthony K. Tjan, Richard J. Harrington and Tsun-Yan Hsieh, are contained their book Heart, Smarts, Guts, and Luck (HSGL). Tackling the human aspect of entrepreneurship, leadership and management, the book surmised that each of us are biased towards one of four traits – namely heart, smarts, guts, or luck – in our decision-making processes.
Tell to Win: Book Review
Imagine watching a magical performance by David Copperfield.
Rather than dazzle you with his breathtaking acts, Copperfield regales you the audience with his childhood story. He relates how his grandfather – a crusty old man – never gave Copperfield or his father the approval they craved.
6 Steps To Building Brand Trust in the Social Age
Do you know that most TV ad viewers avert their eyes the moment a company’s brand appears?
Or that 6 out of 7 “megaviral” branded videos – think Subservient Chicken and Old Spice Man – are jump-started with paid seedings?
The Intention Economy: Book Review
“Caveat Venditor – Let the Seller Beware”
So proclaimed Doc Searls in The Intention Economy: When Customers Take Charge. Co-author of the legendary The Cluetrain Manifesto, Searls’ main thesis is that customers – like markets – should be free.
The Innovator’s Dilemma: Book Review
GrabCar and Uber has disrupted taxis in Singapore and around the world (Courtesy of GrabCar)
Have you wondered how innovations can be “disruptive”? Or why entire industries can be wiped out with new entrants?
Last night, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong spoke about the impact of disruptive innovations during the National Day Rally Speech.
Enchantment: A Book Review
Keen to change the world? Want to transform your “caterpillars” into “butterflies”?
Well, former Apple chief evangelist Guy Kawasaki’s Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds and Actions may show you a trick or two.
Rework: A Book Review
“Policies are organisational scar tissue. They are codified overreactions to situations that are unlikely to happen again. They are collective punishment for the misdeeds of an individual”
With excerpts like that, you can be sure that Rework by founders of 37Signals Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson isn’t an ordinary book on entrepreneurship. Divided into 12 short chapters on various aspects of business – from progress to productivity and competitors to culture – Rework is a compelling read.
How Pleasure Works – Book Review
Why does pain sometimes feel like pleasure? Why do we enjoy music and art even though there aren’t any adaptive advantages? When does “one man’s meat” become “another man’s poison”?
The answers to these human behavioural puzzles (and more) can be found in How Pleasure Works. Written by Yale’s evolutionary psychologist Paul Bloom, the book uncovers the “new science of why we like what we like”. By delving into the fields of anthropology, evolution, history, biology and psychology, the book investigates why we humans are so different compared to our fellow earthlings.