Brain Rules (John Medina, 2008) 8.0/10
How We Decide (Jonah Lehrer, 2009) 8.2/10
How The Mighty Fall (Jim Collins, 2009) 6.7/10
World Wide Rave (David Meerman Scott, 2009) 7.2/10
The Element (Sir Ken Robinson, 2009) 8.2/10
Jeff Immelt and the New GE Way (David Magee, 2009) 5.0/10
The Talent Code (Daniel Coyle, 2009) 6.5/10
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (Robert B. Cialdini, 2007) 7.0/10
The Ten Commandments for Business Failure (Donald R. Keough, 2008) 7.3/10
The Little Book of Bull Moves in Bear Markets (Peter D. Schiff, 2008) 5.2/10
The Brand Bubble (John Gerzema and Ed Lebar, 2008) 6.0/10
A Sense Of Urgency (John P. Kotter, 2008) 6.5/10
Who (Geoff Smart and Randy Street, 2008) 6.8/10
Reality Check (Guy Kawasaki, 2008) 7.2/10
Tribes (Seth Godin, 2008) 4.7/10
Talent (Edward E. Lawler III, 2008) 5.8/10
Business Stripped Bare (Richard Branson, 2008) 7.8/10
Call Me Ted (Ted Turner with Bill Burke, 2008)
Outliers (Malcolm Gladwell, 2008) 6.0/10
Winning (Jack Welch with Suzy Welch, 2005) 8.0/10
Tuned In (Craig Stull, Phil Myers & David Meerman Scott, 2008) 7.2/10
Inside Steve's Brain (Leander Kahney, 2008) 6.0/10
Yes! (Robert Cialdini, et al, 2008) 6.7/10
Six Disciplines Execution Revolution (Gary Harpst, 2008) 4.0/10
The Future of Management (Gary Hamel and Bill Breen, 2008) 7.3/10
Meatball Sundae (Seth Godin, 2007) 7.0/10
“…your dream business will be not just possible, not just probable, but unstoppable.”
The Answer: Grow Any Business, Achieve Financial Freedom, and Live an Extraordinary Life.
“The Answer” is a hybrid between a self-improvement book and a small business growth book which is obvious that while John Assaraf focuses on “you” in the first half of the book, Murray Smith focuses on “your business” in the second half.
Content (I’ll divide into two halves)
First half: including 1. Inside the Box: John’s Story 2. The Search for How the World Works 3. The Law of Attraction 4. The Universe Inside Your Brain 5. How to Change Your Mind 6. Your Dream Business 7. The Neural Reconditioning Process 8. Neural Reconditioning FAQs
The first half of the book is a mix of business, biology (anatomy, molecular biology, and neuroscience), psychology, quantum physics, and a touch of hypnosis. This first half tells you how you can renew yourself.
Second half: including 9. The Important Things: Murray’s Story 10. Vision, Focus, Action 11. Your Ideal Customer 12. Innovating Your Business 13. Finding Your Business’s DNA 14. Reaching Your Ideal Customer 15. Big Thinking
The second half of the book is a straightforward, no-nonsense, get-to-the-point business growth method. It is about typical things like customers, innovations, USP, and marketing communications.
…
Comparing “The Answer” to an ideal book; “A business book that is easy to understand, distinct, credible, practical, insightful, and provide great reading experience.”
Ease of Understanding: 8/10; although, in the first half, molecular biology, quantum physics and business do not normally go well together, the authors can digest biology science (who knows whether it is harder or easier than rocket science?) into easy-to-understand science.
Distinction: 7/10; a nice blend of science and self-improvement in a business book in the first half deserves a 9/10, in my opinion. On the other hand, the concept of the second half is nothing new but there are some new, exciting, and simple approaches to the mainstream concepts (such as in customer identification and innovation) which deserve 5-6/10.
Practicality: 7/10; the book provides you with easy, interactive and simple steps on implementation. However, the book aims to be a “one-size-fits-all” book. It might seem easy while you read, but a great effort is required if you try to weave the ideas into you and your business.
Credibility: 5/10; I love the first half of the book (mostly) by John Assaraf and it is inspiring but unless it is solidly proven with facts and researches (especially the science of zero-point field, resonance, possibility), I cannot say it is totally credible. The second half is high on the credibility scale with lots of fascinating examples that are authors’ experience or the experience of their clients.
Insight: 8/10; the first half is a real eye-opener with lots of amazing findings and how you can master them. The second half has some precise concepts and they are supported sufficiently. Examples are not cursory; they are probed and explained thoroughly.
Reading Experience: 8/10; reading this book is like having two mindful and thoughtful coaches taking turn trying to help you. The best thing is that you will feel that they really believe in you and believe that you can, and will succeed.
Overall: 7.2/10; if I’m biased (maybe I’m already biased!), I’ll give more points to “The Answer” because I feel good reading it. If you feel distressed, down, or frustrated with your business, grab this book. Excluding every aspect of the book, this book make you feel energised, pumped up, and ready to take on anything ahead.
February 24th, 2009 at 8:01 am
I found 0/2 helpful comments from Amazon.com from this review
It’s quite strange that I have a worse review that has more helpful comments. Maybe, in this review, I put 7.2/10 in the title and put things like six elements review in it. People might find it a bit too cocky. I’ll stay humble, lads.