By: Jim Collins
Pages: 328
Business
My recommendation: 10 / 10
Date read: Before 2013
Brief review: This book is a result of six years of extensive research into what makes enduring great companies. Published in year 1994, the book discusses the underlying habits and characteristics of visionary companies who made it big over time. Some of the companies in the research included Merck, Ford, Philip Morris, Wal-Mart, HP, Boeing, Citicorp, General Electric and others. Collins calls these companies as visionary and compared them with equally good but which couldn't qualify as 'built to last', like Pfizer, Texas Instruments, General Motors, Colgate and others. The authors did a great job by compressing huge amount of research and data into a relatively small book but meaningful information. If you have interest in business and corporate success, this book is for you.
By: W Chan Kim & Renee Mauborgne
Pages: 216
Business
My recommendation: 10 / 10
Date read: Before 2013
Brief review: If you are looking for a book on strategy and marketing, this one is a must read. The book is written after extensive research of hundreds of strategies used by several companies over the last 100 years. It concludes that rather than fighting in a competitive world (red ocean), one should aim to create uncontested market place called the 'blue ocean'. Your perception of competition can change into opportunity. Rather than having a 'killing the competition attitude', this book makes a compelling case for 'applying creativity and focusing on value innovation'. Giving examples from a diverse set of industries including computers, automobiles, watches, wine, cement and many more; the book will make your see opportunities more clearly than competition. The analogy of Blue Ocean vs Red Ocean is so compelling, refreshing and opportunistic. It has changed my perception and way of looking at competition and I am sure it will do the same to you.
By: Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Pages: 305
Non Fiction, Psychology
My recommendation: 10 / 10
Date read: Before 2013
Brief review: Taleb describes a black swan as "a surprising or virtually unpredictable event that can have a massive impact. He challenges the notion of success and proves that most of it could be simply because of luck. Filled with numerous examples and research, this book will definitely hit your thinking pattern and the way you use probability in your life. His arguments and data points are brilliant. In one of the chapters he subtly says; don't cross the river if it is (on average) four feet deep. It is one of the finest books you can read which cautions about the risk of historical evidence in life and business. Taleb advocates to take positive exposure to black swan events. Simply outstanding. (Note: Starting this book is easy but you need to focus hard to finish it. The book carries too much depth and you should give time to read it. Don't hurry up into this one.)
By: Stephen M.R. Covey
Pages: 322
Self Help
My recommendation: 9 / 10
Date read: Before 2013
Brief review: Trust is becoming a rare commodity and as such its value is increasing by the day. Stephen suggests that trust is the underlying principle which governs our personal, professional and social life. The quality of life we live and the success we achieve is directly proportionate to the level of trust we create in the eyes of the world. I liked reading this one. It may seem to be a general and boring topic but the force with which the book has been written and the examples given will make a lasting impression on you.
By: Tim Feriss
Pages: 377
Self Help
My recommendation: 9 / 10
Date read: Before 2013
Brief review: It's an excellent book which can help you free up a lot of your working hours. It talks about how Tim cut down his 80 hour work week to 4 hours per week while increasing his income from $40,000 per year to $40,000 per week. Among several of his ideas, two key ideas is to look for automatic income and use the principal of 80/20. The book is exhaustive and it may be difficult to apply everything that Tim talks about but I bet you will definitely connect with a few which would be worth implementing. I am a great beneficiary of this book and I am sure you too would be. Strongly recommended.
