Two new books

I was on vacation recently, doing a little recharging and unhooking, and read two fascinating books - The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell, and Love is the Killer App: How to Win Friends and Influence Business, by Tim Sanders. Gladwell, a former columnist with the New Yorker, wrote a fascinating tome based on the idea that, like viruses, fads, crime rate reduction, restarurant popularity – choose the latest thing creating a buzz – all have a reason, a single point in time where they exploded, where they became "sticky", and he has dubbed this the Tipping Point. This was a really fascinating read, and it will take some time for me to fully digest it.

The other book that I mentioned, Love is the Killer App, is a book I picked up on a whim after attending a leadership telecast in the spring. While I have to admit I am not a fan of Sanders’ writing style, his insistence on using words like “biz” and “lovecat” to sound hip, and his invention of new words like “bizlove”, I think the content that Sanders includes is worth the read. He is very focused on reading within and without your core business – general reference, marketing and advertising, anything you can get your hands on. But after digesting it and absorbing it, he insists that you try and apply it – something I am very often guilty of. He also suggests that you not just apply it – evangelize it. Preach about it. Refer it to friends and business colleagues.

I have done this recently with both Getting Things Done and The Tipping Point, referring these to business associates and friends and family. For me, it is a bit of going out on a limb, however Sanders is right – it really does force you to internalize what you’ve read and use it properly when you are trying to tell someone about the book. Good stuff in both of these.

Technorati Tags:gtd, business+books, tipping+point, love+is+the+killer+app
Generated By Technorati Tag Generator