As business owners and managers we know that life long learning is very important, but we don’t give ourselves the time for any formal courses or education. To remedy this I have become an avid reader of business books. I have shelves full of books on all sorts of topics. Some are good, some bad and some excellent. Some are trendy some are timeless. For me a good book is one that allows me to see an issue or topic from a different direction or provides me with an approach or technique I haven’t used before. As a management consultant I strive to bring a broader perspective, deeper context and wider range of tools for my clients. Reading helps me to do that.
I probably read about 2 business books a month….How many do you read?
Four books I have read recently, and which I highly recommend to business owners are:
- Made To Stick
- Shop Class as Soulcraft
- 4 Hour Workweek
- IP For Dummies
The holiday season is coming – buy yourself some books! And they are tax deductible
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, by Chip Heath and Dan Heath.
The Heath brothers have done a great job of examining and then codifying why some concepts get remembered and others don’t. They look at stories we all remember such as Aesop’s fables and urban myths such as the famous “girl in the bar stealing your kidneys story”. They apply the code to marketing messages and even to presentations (Dan’s passion is improving how educators teach). Since I read this book I have changed the way I make presentations and how I advise on marketing messages. It is a great read.
The code is broken into 6 simple steps. They are…well you’ll have to buy the book. Chapters will mail it to you.
Shop Class as Soulcraft by Mathew Crawford.
This book is a bit more difficult but if you are curious about why you work as hard as you do and how sometimes, the work seems to strike a chord within you that is bold and harmonious; this book may be for you. Crawford explores the nature of work and he is well positioned to do so. As a kid he worked in speed shops out in California super tuning performance engines. After earning a PhD he went on to work in Washington DC in a think tank dealing with…
Sitting in a cubicle, shortly after starting, he tried to understand how his work mattered and not finding a satisfactory answer he quit and opened a motor cycle repair shop. (For those of you who have read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance this book is not quite as spacey and a whole lot easier to read.) At one point he explained that a client wheeled in an old bike and asked him just to get it running. In examining the bike he could see that he could do a quick job and get it going but he realized that (and this is the key pint) that just getting it going would not be the right thing to do for the bike. His thesis is that work has its own intrinsic value. Crawford’s book explores this and helps us to understand and perhaps explain to others why we do what we do.
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss.
So a 4-hour work week is a bit extreme but not a bad idea. Ferriss’ book helps us to explore how we manage our work day and has excellent suggestions for streamlining and outsourcing activities. I for one happen to enjoy a collaborative busy workplace so I’m not sure if I would really enjoy running my business from a mobile phone in Bali. And besides, as service business, it may be tough to have prospects visit me there. However I do strongly recommend it. When we make recommendations to clients, it usually means that they need to stop doing other things so that they can execute against the new strategy. This book may help.
I gladly credit my friend Carlos Fox for suggesting this book.
IP For Dummies, Neil Milton et al.
This great book was written by our friends at Miltons LLP – experts in Intellectual Property of all kinds. Working closely with Neil I have a much greater appreciation of how IP can not only protect but also build a business. Proper protection allows for creative licensing agreements, often overlooked copyrights and trademarks can facilitate or cripple international expansion plans and patent mining can even discover ‘free’ IP not yet registered in Canada.
Every manager should have a basic understanding of IP. This book provides it. And the best part is we have some free copies of this book available for you.
Kingsford Consulting teams with Milton’s IP to help clients develop comprehensive IP strategies.
http://kingsfordconsulting.ca/?page_id=58
Watch the video related to Girls Bike
1991 Hollywood Records remix of Bicycle Race with a video I made. Released on the Jazz US Remaster CD. Remixed by Junior Vasquez. Lyrics: Bicycle Bicycle Bicycle Bicycle, bicycle, bicycle I want to ride my Bicycle, bicycle, bicycle I want to ride my bicycle I want to ride my bike I want to ride my bicycle I want to ride it where I like You say black, I say white You say bark, I say bite You say shark, I say hey man Jaws was never my scene And I don’t like Star Wars You say Rolls, I say Royce You say God, give me a choice You say Lord, I say Christ I don’t believe in Peter Pan Frankenstein or Superman All I wanna do is Bicycle, bicycle, bicycle I want to ride my Bicycle, bicycle, bicycle I want to ride my bicycle I want to ride my bike I want to ride my bicycle I want to ride my Bicycle races are coming your way So forget all your duties, oh yeah Fat bottomed girls they’ll be riding today So look out for those beauties, oh yeah On your marks Get set Go Bicycle race, bicycle race, bicycle race Bicycle, bicycle, bicycle I want to ride my Bicycle, bicycle, bicycle I want to ride my bicycle I want to ride my bike I want to ride my bicycle I want to ride it where I like Race Race Race, oh yes That, race, that is Bicycle, bicycle, bicycle, bicycle, (I want a) bicycle race Race That is Bicycle – race Hey Hey Race, race, race Hey Bicycle Hey Race You say coke, I say cane You say John, I say Wayne Hot dog, I say cool it man I don’t want to be the president of America You say smile <b>…</b>
Help answer the question about Girls Bike
Why do girls not like to bike?
Why when am i mountain biking i only see a few women or girls. I go biking about once a weekend, but i would think for the 5 hours i am out i would see at least 10 and i am lucky if i see 1 every month! What is wrong with this?
About Author
Shaddy Abboud -
About the Author:
Kingsford Consulting Ltd. is a Strategy and Business Development firm that provides business planning, market research and strategy development services.
www.kingsfordconsulting.ca
how did that even happen? it was flat right?
0:06 elephant in the woods
my crashes leave that one in the dust. i am a professional crasher; my artistry is unparalleled.
Nice, try looking at the end of the bridge and keeping the bars straight next time.
her shoe fell off..haha
I think she meant to do that, notice how she says ready and the guy says do it i am right behind you. Her response after was did you get that. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out this was meant to happen, her hitting her front brakes…….you people are stupid with you comments!!!!
looks like she gave it too much front brake?
As a wise cyclist thought me— Momentum is your friend. Should’ve stayed off that front brake.
WTFfffffff