Get off your Arse, Brad Burton

ISBN 978-1-907451-00-3

Published by 4Publishing

Straight talking

In December 2004 Brad Burton told his employers to ‘shove it’ and set out to build his own business. Fast forward to November 2005, Brad is thousands of pounds in debt, delivering pizzas to put bread on the table and a friend invites him to a breakfast meeting of a networking group.

He hated it. But his business was going down the pan and networking seemed a likely lifesaver. So, as advocated in this book’s title, Brad decided to ‘get off his arse’ and do something. That something was to create a new business networking organisation that had none of the characteristics he hated. As we near the end of 2009, 4Networking has over 200 groups meeting regularly all over the country. A meteoric rise from near total failure to massive success.

In this book we are treated to Brad Burton’s story, his philosophy and some of his dreams. An engaging writer, he exhorts us to ‘Do something! Anything!’, to surround ourselves with smart people and to understand that the road to success is a hard one In short, he pulls no punches; he is overflowing with enthusiasm and his book is an easy read. He has some unusual viewpoints that refresh the familiar themes (such as ‘people buy from people …) and his treatise on the ten-minute appointment certainly gives food for thought.

All told, entertaining, largely original and well worth the time it takes to read.

The Meeting Magic Method, Katherine Woods & Kevin Holligan

Available at www.meetingmagic.co.uk


Seven steps to successful meeting design

Now here is something completely different. An A3 workbook (plus a pocket version for on the hoof meeting planning) designed to lead you along the path to the perfect meeting.

I say ‘path’ advisedly since the authors use the visual metaphor of a journey throughout the workbook. It is designed to help business managers realise more effective results from any meeting.

Based on seven steps (there’s that figure 7 again! What is it with authors?) each A3 page (template) provides the opportunity to advance the development of your meeting;

1. Clarify why (the fundamental reason(s) for having a meeting at all)
2. Understand expectations (yours and others’)
3. Define the targets (what you and ‘they’ expect)
4. Outline the flow (how the targets are to be achieved)
5. Design the agenda (what most of us thought came first!)
6. Prepare resources (complete with checklist to avoid embarrassing gaps!)
7. Document and review (we’ve all wondered after a meeting what actually happened!)

The worksheets are very practical and beautifully designed and could make a real difference to anyone who struggles with the preparation of meetings (so that’s everyone who ever prepared a meeting, right?). The kit represents a serious investment at £97.00 though that does include a facility to download and print more templates and a half-hour coaching session from one of Meeting Magic’s facilitators.

Come to think of it, your first session could potentially save more than the cost simply in time saved. Assuming you are as disorganised as me when it comes to planning!

Sticky Wisdom

Published by Capstone

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

The revolution starts here

How would you like to switch on your ‘creativity’ any time you wanted? Or help everyone in your organisation (your life!) be more creative? According to the unnamed authors (all staff members of the organisation ?What If!) there is a step-by-step how-to-do-it guide – and Sticky Wisdom the book is it!

There are, the book tells us, six behaviours that can be seen in all creative people and teams;

Freshness
Greenhousing
Realness
Momentum
Signalling
Courage

Unsurprisingly, Sticky Wisdom is divided into six chapters (plus an introduction, a ‘call to arms’ and an index) that explore the behaviours and guide the reader towards their implementation.

Is this just another book of to do lists? Not entirely; though it contains lists a plenty. Let’s face it, we would all like a simple template that could be applied and provide instant positive results. Not only for creativity but for all the other challenges that face us in life and business. So the authors have tapped into a universal desire for quick fixes. However they are codifying what their organisation does, very successfully, for a number of impressive clients; Microsoft and ICI for example. While I don’t imagine either of these organisations is completely immune from snake-oil salesman their presence on the client list does make the arguments put forth at least worth spending a little time on.

Like the company the authors work for, Sticky Wisdom is a bit off-the-wall but a good read and with some interesting ideas that could make a big difference if you are prepared to put in the not inconsiderable effort that will be needed. Proving yet again that there is not really any short cut to success beyond winning a lottery, Sticky Wisdom has found a space on my bookshelf.

The Science of Getting Rich, Wallace D Wattles

Buy it now for $1!

Long before Rhonda Byrne (The Secret) was even a twinkle in anyone's eye, Wallace Wattles (you couldn't make up a name like that, could you?) was busy scribbling away at what would become his most popular work.

Born in Illinois shortly before the outbreak of the American Civil War, Wattles lived much of his life in poverty, yet mysteriously he died a wealthy man. He attributed his riches to his discovery of the principles outlined in this book.

So is this simply another self-delusional piece of new age fluff aimed at the lazy and the greedy? Maybe not! Certainly, when you boil down Wattles' recipe it seems to be simple enough; decide exactly what you want, keep it in the forefront of your mind at all times, believe you will achieve it. Plus one other vital ingredient - do something about it! The twist from Wattles is that he claims his methods guarantee success, and he himself is the proof.

Published a year before his death in 1911, Wattles' book long predates other self-help gurus such as Napoleon Hill, W Clement Stone, Norman Vincent Peale and, of course, Rhonda Byrne.

The outstanding merit of Wattles' work is its brevity. He says much that the other say (have copied from him?) but has his own endearing style.

Worth a look - even if only from curiosity to see what an original has to say.

Instant Creativity, Brian Clegg & Paul Birch

Published by Kogan Page

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

Creativity catalyst

Competitors, costs, customers; life would be so much simpler without them. But they are facts of life and Messrs Clegg & Birch claim that creativity is the way to handle these and all the other problems business throws your way.. Creativity, they say, is a survival factor.

The authors have set out to create a handbook that is easy to use and will make the most of whatever creativity is available – yours or others’. They begin by establishing what exactly creativity is and what gets in its way before going on to look at specific creative techniques. These they split into two sections;

First, establishing exactly what the question is. This is handy when you know you have a problem but you aren’t quite sure what it is or what the cause is. So the techniques in this section are designed to help you get a clear understanding of the nature of the problem with, perhaps, some idea of a general approach. Once you have a clear statement of the problem, you are ready for …

Second, what’s the answer? You know pretty well what you want to achieve but how to achieve it is proving elusive. The problem solvers and idea generators in this section will get your juices going, the authors hope, and ultimately drag the optimum solution out into the open.

You may have briefly to suspend judgement as some of the techniques can seem bizarre. In fact, some of the titles seem bizarre, take ‘Time Slices’ for example, or ‘Mud Slinging’, ‘Cacophony’ and ‘Psychiatrist’s Couch’. Stick with it though; it all makes sense in the end.

This is a ‘dip-in’ book with more than seventy techniques explained and a selection guide to help you choose the best technique(s) each time you use it.

Recommended if you have problems or simply want to increase the amount of creative thinking that goes on in your business.