Konstantin

Great timeless story

Revisado: 12-31-22

Every person involved with managing investments should read it when market goes up and then read it again when market goes down. Good insights.

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Misleading "dramatic" title.

Revisado: 05-13-21

The more appropriate title would be "The latest trends of capitalism". Lame attempt to fork out the trend out of "Good to Great" with emphasis on environmental sustainability (nothing wrong with focusing on the issue btw, but there is no need for deceptive titles). I struggled to find a "new groundbreaking" reimagining strategy when the author speaks about problems companies faced for ages ... mitigating responsibility and risk. It reads as a subtle agenda of vilifying companies that make financially responsible decisions while promoting risky spending strategies that may or may not benefit the company, but will certainly benefit the environment. While the environment is important and companies should strive to do their part, fiscal responsibility cannot be ignored and the examples author makes attribute more to large companies with large budgets that can withstand many hurdles middle and small companies may not. The examples author makes of how companies made responsible choices ofen ignore the psychology of business. While social responsibility is important, comparing Toyota and GM cultures and stating that if only GM would have empowered its people to contribute to the decision-making process, they would have been at least as successful as Toyota is at the very least irresponsible. GM's management certainly made mistakes and empowering employees absolutely would have helped to resolve some issues, it is however ambitious to claim it will bring GM to Toyota's level, at that time. The author simply downplays or in some cases ignores economic, political, and other market conditions to draw conclusions that society will take care of your business. "Good to Great" was based on examples of companies that ended up in the hot seat or no longer around (Fannie, Wells, Curcuit City, Phillip Morris). It's important to promote social responsibility, however, it's just as important to recognize its cost and often a burden, especially on the smaller business. Start-ups that ride the waves of being socially responsible are taking the opportunity of the trend and so should existing large-cap companies, but the majority of companies that start as socially responsible companies fail just as much as the ones that don't. It's important to recognize that a robust and dynamic company that is aligned with the overall economic, market and political climate (flavor of the last couple of decades is social responsibility) will succeed. It's an informative book and has some good points, if it's the first book you read in this category. However, as far as reimagining capitalism, the book is a major fail. Books such as "Understanding complexity", "An Economist hour", "The Deficit Myth" and even "Good to Great", collectively offer various ways of looking at problems and offer greater value.

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esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

Quick, interesting, but politically biased towards the end

Revisado: 08-17-20

Started out fine, however turned politically biased in the last 20 mins which I thought was uncalled for since it sounded rather like an attack and passive call to action rather then simply stating an opinion

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Very basic, mostly applicable to transactional and retail selling

Revisado: 10-16-18

Found Chaldinni’s Power of Persuasion more practical for learning about the relationship building and human psychology

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Must read regardless of one’s political beliefs and/or affiliations

Revisado: 09-13-18

Well positioned argument from civil libertarian standpoint with solid examples of dangers of political bias.

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5,4,3,2,1...Newspaper article stretched into a book

Revisado: 05-16-17

Mel is without a doubt smart, intelligent, successful and accomplished. That being said, it looks like Mel did exactly what she advocated, counted from 5-1 and put together some thoughts that came to mind at the moment... The book is a disappointment and to be fair, I did listen to it through the end. Over-recycled concept of "just do it" with the prelaunch count. Although some people might find it useful to count 5-1 or 1-5 to motivate themselves (hence 2 stars) to do some chores, exercise and projects, for many that simple solution (clever nevertheless) just exactly what it is, too impulsive and irrational to make life changing decisions as Mel in some cases advocates. Unless you're looking for some mediocre 7.5 hr motivation lecture, I would not recommend spending money and time on this book. Listen to "Power of Habit" or "Triggers: Creating behavior that lasts", you're likely to find more research and fact based info there...

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Good, but not great

Revisado: 10-30-14

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
Certainly good read, some facts felt one sided

Was Boys Adrift worth the listening time?
Yes, though it shouldn't be the only material to make conclusions

Any additional comments?
In disclosure, I'm not a doctor and I do not have kids, I'm however affiliated with education industry through past administrative experience and through current board of trustees involvement in the charter school, I'm an emigrant and I was one of those kids who had a hard time sitting in one place. One part that I strongly agree with an author that people should try to avoid ADHD medication unless it is absolutely necessary and the disorder is diagnosed by a professional. I think there are some valid concerns about drinking from plastic bottles and I also agree that in many instances changing schools, environment (including changing teachers), adjusting how lessons are thought (standing vs sitting) etc... is certainly worth exploration. I also agree that college education might not be for everyone and learning a trade might be viable option for many man as well as women. At the same time, author makes, what felt like, a strong suggestion that the reason boys do not succeed in this country is due to medication they took as kids and suggests boys only schools as a solution since it will give boys an opportunity to be who they really are and brings examples from an Alaskan village where spending time with adult males as a role models in the past helped boys learn the trade of hunting sea lions... Although it was clear author used it as a metaphoric example to make a point boys need role models, still many people don't hunt sea lions these days and not all live in remote locations. Although it is certainly evident that boys are currently on the declining streak compared to girls when it comes to college education and career success, it didn't feel author made a compelling enough argument backed by a research that used correct sampling, it was rather simply his opinion.
We have experienced cultural transformation, particularly in US, in the past several decades and as a result women, in many cases, are competing for the same opportunities as men and that will undoubtedly affect ratios of men/women in the workforce etc..., and it will probably level off at some point. Author also makes suggestions that other cultures might be more respectful and although I'm sure many will agree with this, many will also agree that in US, parents' level of education, zip codes, income levels and other socioeconomic statuses of the boys, girls and their families are probably important driving factors in most cases.
In short, I think it is certainly worth reading this book, however, one should keep an open mind as some of the remarks author makes in reference to cultural development and other religions are rather an opinion than a well researched scientific fact and feels like it bears a political agenda vs fact finding, hence 3 stars.

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Must read to truly grasp the meaning of "Snowball"

Revisado: 09-30-14

Where does The Snowball rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Great in the category of biography

What did you like best about this story?

Personal insights

Any additional comments?

Although, I'm sure after listening to this book everyone's experience will be different, I thought the author was able to truly capture and deliver the personal essence of Warren Buffet. To avoid repetition, I think, the summary of this book greatly summarizes the content and gives an accurate preview of what's expected in the book. Bottom line, if a person admires Warren Buffet or just curious about how he accomplished the status of one of the most influential people in the world, especially within the investment world, one SHOULD NOT SKIP this book.

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Amongst top leadership and management books!

Revisado: 08-23-14

If you could sum up Conscious Capitalism in three words, what would they be?

Great conceptual approach to balanced management.

What did you like best about this story?

Although my initial motivation to listen to this book was to learn more about Whole Foods and about John Mackey from investment standpoint in the company's stock, this book could be closely compared to "Good to Great", in fact John Mackey references it at some point, particularly the time aspect and how long it takes to build a conscious company. Similar to many other books including "Good to Great", it is hard to ignore the fact that the theories presented are not bulletproof and still subject to many other economic, regulatory and industry headwinds, the book, nevertheless portrays a very well structured approach to balanced management. Although based on Whole Foods example, it doesn't overly fixate on Whole Foods rather uses Whole Foods as an example to support the conceptual theories that should be considered as a part of balanced management approach by leaders in general. The book addresses important key elements of culture, employee relations, transparency, strategic initiatives and more. Certainly one of the best Leadership and Management books I've come across as well as an easy read.

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Good Concept, too wordy..

Revisado: 05-23-11

The book has some good insights, but information can certainly be combined into a 2 hours presentation max. The author uses too many fancy words that ultimately describe the same thing and tends to loose the reader with its ambiguity. After every couple of chapters you kind of get that, aha useful moment and then it tend to go back to the wordy description of events. I'm giving it 3 stars since it has some good insights, but the presentation needs significant improvement

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