the dip | Speed Reading the Best Business Book Reviews

the dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When To Quit (And When To Stick)
By: Seth Godin

Speed Reading Stats (h:mm:ss)

1st Read: Sneeze = 73 pages

2nd Read: Bless you = 73 pages

3rd Read: Sneeze = 73 pages

Did I speed read it? Hells no! The book is 73 pages long. Common on people...that would take me less than a sneeze.

5 "Must Take-Aways" (MTAs)

Winners quit all the time. Winners just quit the RIGHT stuff, not the wrong stuff.

Quitting is not the same as failing. Failing is when you don’t know when to quit, when you refuse to settle, when you compromise.

Strategic quitting is a conscious decision to quit the tactics that are not working for your long-term strategy.

The Dip is the middle ground between beginning and mastery. It is when things go from easy to hard.

In the beginning and in advance, decide the circumstances for quitting. This will change for each situation.

"The Point" (TP)

Many people resort to inspirational quotes when times are difficult. You know…quotes like “Quitters never win and winners never quit.” ~Vince Lombardi. Right? Remember in K-12 school when they told you to do your best in every class. Testing taking tip #1: answer the test questions you know, then come back and fill in the ones you aren’t sure about? You are shaking your head yes. WRONG! What?!?!  This is what this book is all about. Winners quit the right stuff at the right times instead of staying in the rut, pursuing the no-win, non-changing situation.

Strategic quitting is the ability to see when your choices/tactics are going no-where (The Cul-de-sac) or are going to fall apart (The Cliff). By quitting, you can develop a new strategy, a new look, a new approach. The kicker is not quitting when things get hard and no longer any fun (The Dip). To survive The Dip, you need to lean into the challenges, push harder, change the rules…keep whittling at it until you make it through the other side. Before you start, know when you are willing to quit. Write it down NOW! If the scenario presents itself, quit. Change your tactics and start again. Good luck Winner!

Brilliant Articulate Mind Map (BAMM)

https://www.xmind.net/m/AY5f/

one click | Speed Reading the Best Business Book Reviews

one click: Jeff Bezos and the Rise of Amazon.com
By: Richard L. Brandt

Speed Reading Stats (h:mm:ss)

1st Read: 0:02:17 = 24,239 words/minute

2nd Read: 0:02:22 = 23,386 words/minute

3rd Read: 0:02:35 = 21,424 words/minute

Mind Map Stats (h:mm:ss)

1:36:15

Total Time: (h:mm:ss)

1:43:29

5 Must Take-Aways (MTAs)

1. Try unusual tactics in marketing. Make the business stand-out. Just because no one did it before doesn’t mean it is a bad idea.
2. Listen to your customer. Be responsive. Don’t make excuses; ask for forgiveness when you don’t live up to expectations.
3. Hire the best people ALWAYS. Continually raise the bar of expectations. Don’t just look for people that have worked in your business sector in the past. Qualifications are not solely about industry knowledge.
4. Develop a brand name that encompasses your mission and vision.
5. Have a solid business plan. Yeah, I know Bezos didn’t start with one, but he later acknowledged it was important to have analyzed the business potential.

  

The Point (TP)

Everyone knows Amazon.com. It is a world-wide business that drastically changed how people shop, research products, provide consumer feedback, and purchase. Bezos is unique as an entrepreneurial CEO. He did not start Amazon.com due to a passion for books. Instead the exceptional market growth associated with online businesses drove Bezos to walk the entrepreneurial road. Bezos used the following basic criteria in his assessment of potential businesses: A) Familiar products do better. B) The larger the market the better. C) Look for a market with a smaller number of competitors. D) Make sure you can get inventory quickly and easily. E) Your data is important. Make sure the database is up to par. F) Look for discount opportunities. G) Product delivery is important. How will the product get there fast? H) Online potential is HUGE! Don’t forget it. This lead Bezos to focus on books in the beginning…and we know where it has ended up.

Bezos rules for success in his business ventures are: 1) Obsess over customers. They will make or break your business. Never forget that.  2) Invent the product, then reinvent the product tenaciously, and keep doing it until you get it right. Always giver your customers something new to come back to see. 3) Focus on the long term. If you don’t plan on being around for a long time, you will not even make it for a short time. 4) “It’s always day one.” Never forget that today matters as much as the first day.

Brilliant Articulate Mind Map (BAMM)

https://www.xmind.net/m/TLFt/

Brandt, R. L. (2011). One Click: Jeff Bezos and the Rise of Amazon.com (p. 214). New York, NY: Portfolio / Penguin. ISBN: 978-1-59184-375-7.

Speed Reading the Best Business Book Reviews: Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking

By: Malcolm Gladwell

Speed Reading Stats

Speed Reading Stats (h:mm:ss)

1st Read: 0:05:19, 15,685 words/minute

2nd & 3rd Read: 0:04:00, 20,848 words/minute

Mind Map Stats (h:mm:ss)

1:32:12

Total Time: (h:mm:ss)

1:51:30

5 "Must Take-Aways" (MTAs)

1. Adaptive unconscious. The amazing power of the mind that allows people to respond to situations instantly, like swerving to avoid hitting a deer while driving. Most people have this ability. It can get better with training, experiences, and practice.
2. Thin-slicing. The unconscious mind’s ability to find the underlying patterns of situations and behaviors. In essence, the ability to inherently understand when something is “wrong” with something/someone; to read minuscule body language, such as facial reactions, to know how someone is feeling; and to respond under high-pressure, high-stress, rapid-response situations.
3. Snap judgments. These are the decisions make in seconds, such as whether someone is a threat to you or someone is lying. These decisions are made very fast with a minimal amount of information. They rely on your past experiences and situations. Pause a second (literally, just a second) in your snap judgments to try to control for your personal stereo-types and prejudices.
4. More information does NOT mean better decisions. When large amounts of information are provided, people often stop listening to their “gut” (i.e. unconscious mind) to rely on their conscious mind. 
5. Unconscious Thinking CAN be improved. The brain can improve its functioning with training and new experiences. If you are not that good at thin-slicing and snap judgments, you can get better with exposure to new experiences that will correct old stereo-types and prejudices. 

"The Point" (TP)

This is my first Malcolm Gladwell book. Gladwell’s writing is very effortless to read. He engages the reader with stories in the beginning of the chapters and incorporates his theories in the later part of the chapters. There is an underlying theme to the book, which Gladwell builds upon slowly and with grace. Blink is an interesting look into the ability of the mind to process information and make instantaneous decisions. You know those times when you think to yourself “why does that look off”, “Something isn’t right here”, or “that person I just met didn’t seem to like me even though they were nice to me”? We have all been there. Decisions made in the blink of an eye are life altering. Ta da! Get it…“decisions made in the blink of an eye”…name of the book “Blink”. Good, you’re following me.

Our adaptive unconscious mind has the ability to respond, size up, and react to situations within seconds (Gladwell’s term “thin-slicing”). The brain has the ability to detect patterns of behaviors and events based upon past experiences and environments (Gladwell’s term “snap judgments”). The fascinating aspect of thin-slicing and snap judgments is that less information is more. Yeah, you read that correctly. Having more information can override the mind’s ability to respond under high-pressure, high-stress, rapid-response situations. The good news is that you, yes you, can improve your mind’s thin-slicing and snap judgment ability through new experiences and training. How do you ask? Well, I don’t know. Gladwell doesn’t go into detail on how to do that in this book.

"Brilliant Articulate Mind Maps" (BAMM)

https://www.xmind.net/m/a9Xe/

Gladwell, M. (2005). Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking (p. 296). New York, NY: Back Bay Books. ISBN: 978-0-316-17232-5.

Speed reading and the Best Book Review: Guerrilla Marketing Research

Here we go! Speed reading and business books means the best book reviews! Here's to saving time, MTAs, TP, and BAMM! Yes siree Bob!

Guerrilla Marketing Research: Marketing Research Techniques That Can Help Any Business Make More Money
By: Robert J. Kaden

Speed Reading Stats
Total Time: 1 hour 52 minutes
Read the book 4 times front to back and completed Mind Map. I will separate out the read time and the mind mapping next time.

5 "Must Take-Aways" (MTAs)

1. For successful market research, you must dig and probe to understand your customers. It is worth it.
2. To start market research, set your purpose. Do you want to increase profits, increase the market, convince customers to buy more often, and/or attract competitors' customers? Be sure you know what you want to get out of the research.
3. ALWAYS track customer satisfaction. First and foremost, keep your existing customers.
4. Focus your market research. Asses your large competitors first, than small competitors.
5. Data by itself means nothing. The story will be discovered in how the data is analyzed. Use a professional if you are inexperienced. It will be worth the money.

"The Point" (TP) 
Based on the title, I expected a focus on about 10 market research techniques with detailed instructions and references to some outside sources/websites. Instead, Guerrilla Marketing Research is a very high-level review of marketing research and marketing research techniques. Even though the title and the content don't jive for me, it was a worthwhile read. A reader will get a very good understanding of the importance of customer attitudes and how to drill down question(s) for market research (Chapters 1, 2). Kaden successfully segues and introduces standard market research jargon, such as strategic vs. tactical market research and qualitative vs. quantitative research types. My favorite section was how to save money on focus groups and telephone surveys (Chapter 6). Definitely check out the mind map (BAMM) for those lists. I enjoyed the read until Chapter 12.

I was not enthralled by Kaden's explanations for writing questionnaires, sampling, how to conduct surveys, and statistical techniques (Chapters 12, 13, 14, and 16, respectively). Up to this point, Kaden discussed what a business owner needed to know, not how to do these services themselves. These are very complex topics and a novice will be overwhelmed with Kaden's explanations. Kaden repeatedly mentions the importance of hiring a professional throughout the book. I completely agree, which is why the content of these chapters did not sit well with me. The information provided is just enough that a novice might attempt their own market research. Hey you, DO NOT attempt this on your own. It will likely waste your time and your money. People do this for a living, really. Hire them.

"Brilliant Articulate Mind Maps" (BAMM)
http://www.xmind.net/share/perusalocity/perusalocity-mind-map-guerrilla-marketing-research/



Kaden, R. J. (2006). Guerrilla Marketing Research: Marketing Research Techniques That Can Help Any Business Make More Money. Philadelphia: Kogan Page. (ISBN: 0-7494-4574-2).
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